Legends Never Die
by TMHB77
Summary: Non canon with all my other stories. In a future where spyro and cynder are a hazy memory, an old evil threatens once again.
1. Chapter 1 Another Day

**LEGENDS NEVER DIE**

Well, here I am again with one more fic. It doesnt have spyro or cynder in it right off the bat, but it will later. anyway, here's a surprise for all you out there in the world wide webosphere, There is NO Romance forcibly shoe-horned into this plot line! horray! (maybe). anyway I hope you guys like this as much as my other stories! Without further delay, lets jump in! (All OC's are mine, and spyro and co. are sierras or whoevers.)

**CHAPTER 1**

Ria was on the upside of seven years old. She went to school just like all the other dragons her age were made too. She had a brother named Jerrath. He was twice her age at fourteen, and also had to go to learn from the older dragons in the village. Though she knew the names of a lot of the young dragons in her class, she never had a close friend, or any at all really. Indeed she was a bit of a loner. Unlike her brother, who knew everyone in his grade. Their parents were happily married, and the four of them lived in a rather spacious upscale cave on the outskirts of Megaton, a medium sized village a long flight south of the largest city that held the Grand Dragon Elder Council. Ria's father was very influential in her village and was looking to replace the ailing Trias as the Head elder of the village. The sun rose, like any other day as Ria stirred from her sleep. She rolled away from the oppressive light ray coming through her window like hole in her room. After five minutes, she heard her mother call for her to get up. She finally rolled out of her bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with her small wings. She was a light green and white dragon just like her mother. Unfortunately, she was born with a very rare birth defect; her horns never developed, leaving her completely 'bald' on the top of her head. She was regularly tormented for her different appearance by both the males and females. She went downstairs and saw that her brother and father already eating at the table. Jerrath was black and white just like Xenith, his father. Though he had his fights like all siblings did, deep down, it was suspected that Jerath actually cared about his baby sister. But for the sake of his outward appearance, he pretended she didn't exist most of the time.

"Morning honey. Ready for school?" Her father asked as he read the daily scroll, not looking up from it.

"Yes..." She yawned sleepily. She turned to her mother nuzzled her back leg.

"I'm hungry Mommy." She said, her stomach growling like an aggravated tiger.

She looked down at her daughter and smiled bringing her food to the table where her brother and father were just clearing it as they prepared to leave.

"Bye sweetheart, I'm off to the grind." Her father said kissing her, then his wife on the cheek before heading out with his son. The school for older dragons started earlier than hers did.

"Don't let Gafron get to you OK?" She said returning the kiss. His brow furrowed as he turned to leave with his son.

"I'll try." He said as they left. Gafron was the other dragon vying for the head elder seat. The more obvious it was that Elder Trias was going to die or retire, the dirtier the tactics became, each one trying to discredit the other to the council of elders.

They left and Ria climbed up into her chair as her mother set her breakfast in front of her as she too sat down to eat. She quietly ate as her mother looked over the scroll her dad was reading earlier.

"Mommy...?"

"Yes dear?"

"How come I have to go to school?"

Her mother sighed and gave her daughter a tired look.

"Because all dragons your age are required to." She said in an I-answered-this-question-a-million-times-before inflection.

"But the kids there are mean to me! I don't want to go back!" She pleaded to her mom.

"I know its hard sweetie, its only for a few more weeks."

She said nothing more and went back to eating her breakfast, on the verge of tears. Another failed attempt at avoiding that place she hated most.

After eating, her mother held her hand and walked her to the school for all hatchlings. On their way, they, like all commuters, stopped to pay homage to the fifteen foot high outcropping of glowing green crystals. The town was founded around the crystals, believed to be sent from the Creator himself. Dragons from all over the territories would come to see and pay their respects to them, which is the main reason why Megaton even existed in the first place. Many wondered why their town had such a...peculiar name. This was because of a rumor that an ancient civilization that used the Holy crystals for weaponry used to rule these lands, but then mysteriously disappeared thousands of years ago. A metal artifact was said to be discovered by the towns founder, Thaddeus Whitefang, with the number 20 and the word megaton written on it. Hence he decided to name the down after it. Ria and her mother stopped in front of the crystals and knelt down on one knee.

"May the Creator and our Ancestors watch over us through all the days of our lives." Ria and her mother said in unison, having said it every day before. After their brief prayer, they were on their way to her school. No one ever stayed near the crystals very long, for they believed that loitering near them angered the Creator, and he sent illness and in rare cases death, upon all those who stayed too long near the Holy artifacts.

Her mother dropped her off and gave her a kiss goodbye then left back for their cave. Ria quietly took her cushion and prayed for class to start early. That way, the other kids wouldn't be able to pick on her. But, like they always did, they came in and began talking at the door. She kept her head down and prayed they didn't notice her, but as she glanced over, she saw the ring leader, Alexis make eye contact with her. She was much bigger than most everyone except the male bully Rex, who at least stuck to the males in his bullying efforts. Needless to say, she was much larger and more powerful than Ria. She put a nasty smile on and motioned for her group to follow her to their morning ritual.

Her heart was pounding as she repeated 'Please let class start! Please let class start!' in her head.

"Well, look who it is! Baldy!" She sneered as Ria stared down at the floor.

"Hey! I'm talking to you chrome dome!" She snapped as Ria gingerly acknowledged her voice.

"Hmph. That's pretty weak. You're gonna hafta pay for that. Your mom gave you gems to buy lunch didnt she?" She demanded.

Ria nodded in fear.

"Then hand it over!"

She quietly gave her the gems her mom had given her to eat that day.

"Geez this is it? I can barely get a lamb chop with this! Your family must be as poor as you are ugly!"

She said nothing, just closed her eyes as a single tear escaped her eye, but Alexis even denied her the comfort of crying.

"Awww, is the wittle baby gonna cry? Your a crybaby just like your dad! When _my_ dad gets picked for head elder, he said he's gonna do away with monsters like you. C'mon guys, this runt isn't worth our time." She said as Ms. Silverhorn started class.

"Alexis! Get to your seat or its detention for you and your gang of holigans!" She said sternly.

They all quickly dispersed to their respective sides of the room and class began.

'Finally...' She thought. No one could pick on her or make fun of her when Ms. Silverhorn was teaching. She was very attentive and knew of Alexis' bullying tendencies.

A few hours passed, and the next hurdle soon presented itself as it did everyday. Recess was a few minutes away, and while it was supposed to be an escape for most students, for Ria, it was hell on earth. There was no Ms. Silverhorn to protect her here, she had to fend for herself. Most of the time she prayed that her teacher had erasers that needed cleaning, or just about any job that would keep her from being put outside with her tormentors. But today was not her day. She waited until everyone seemed occupied outside before she quietly took to a corner of the playground by herself. She watched as her classmates played games with names like Ria tag. In which the person who was 'it' or 'Ria' would chase the others and try to infect the other players with her 'germs'.

"Dont get her germs! She'll make your horns fall off!" One of them said laughing as he ran away from the 'Ria'.

She hid behind one of the smaller slides meant for the hatchlings and wished for the ability to speed up time.

At long last, Ms. Silverhorn called them back into the classroom. The rest of the day went by fine, she sat near her brother during lunch. That was the only time she saw him at school, and even though she had to go hungry, she knew no one would pick on her if he was around, as he was quite big for his age, and strongest in his class three years running. He usually didn't pay attention to her as he was always talking to his friends he was surrounded by as if they were his entourage. Jerath noticed that his little sister had no food in front of her, so he slid over to her.

"Where's your lunch Ria?" He asked

She hesitated for a moment. If Alexis knew she tattled on her she surely would only give her more grief.

"I'm...not hungry..." She lied as her brother's expression changed to an I-know-you're-lying look.

"Here, take this." He said handing her the other half of his lunch.

She looked up at him and smiled. Sometimes he did acknowledge her existence, and when that happened, she savored it.

Truth be told, she was starving and gladly ate every last bite of his sandwich.

"Thanks Jerrath." She said, her day instantly brightened by her brothers affection.

"Dont mention it. And stop letting Alexis boss you around, you're making me look bad." He said leaving. He knew of his little sisters troubles with that girl. Unfortunately, she had no older brother for him to threaten, so she was pretty much on her own in dealing with her.

After lunch, school had only an hour left, and for Ria it flew by. Soon she was off to her house, where no one would pick on her, and she could engage in her favorite activity; being by herself in the forest. The tranquility of the wilderness put her more at ease than anywhere else in all the realms. Her mother arrived on time to pick her up from school and she held her hand all the way home. She dropped her things off in her room and started off for her favorite part of the woods. But this venture would be different from all the others, and little Ria would never be the same again.


	2. Chapter 2 Bullies

**CHAPTER 2**

Ria grabbed a quick bite to eat and set out towards the wooded area behind her cave. Megaton was the kind of town that seemed to be hollowed out of the thick forest surrounding it on all sides, making flight really the only logical way to enter or leave. She trotted happily through the wilderness, her belly now full and her mind free to wander to more childlike things...what its going to be like to fly, which clouds are shaped like bunnies and chasing the many butterflies that fluttered around her favorite clearing. It was far enough in the woods to be away from everyone, but close enough so she could find her way back. She came to her favorite spot; a place where the canopy opened up and a warming ray of sunlight shown through. The grass was the softest she'd ever felt anywhere, and her favorite pastime was rolling around in it, letting it gently sweep her troubles away. Ria closed her eyes and breathed deep. She would stay like this all day if she thought she could get away with it...

xXx

Xenith walked down the hallway of the temple to the elders chambers. The other possible candidates for the head elder position had already been ruled out, some had even dropped out for...lets just say, cloudy reasons. He was to greet the elder Trias in person to try and convince him once again to eliminate Gafron from the running; as it was an appointed position, by Trias himself.

He entered the grand chamber and bowed before the very old elder.

"Elder Trias, it is an honor to be in your presence." The old dragon nodded.

His scales were no longer the sharp orange that he once imagined they had been. He was now graying in more than a few places, and his old bones barely allowed him to walk. As a result, he was mainly limited to his chamber. He was scarred with many battles of ages past, and was most of the time withdrawn. When he did speak, all listened. It was even rumored that earlier in his life, he met someone, who met someone who knew a friend of the legendary purple dragon. But as he never spoke, it was all mere speculation.

"My elder, I have come to ask for your vote of confidence in the appointment of the head elder position. Gafron has nothing to bring to Megaton but deception and greed!" He said humbly, looking up to watch for the elders reaction.

His expression was one of indifference. He had to think of something!

But before he could, he was joined by none other than his rival, Gafron.

"Trying to drag my name through the mud behind my back are you? I expected someone with such a penchant for the dramatic to announce it to all the elders at once." He said in a pompous voice as Xenith glared at him.

"Why don't you just leave the wise elder to his decision? He will surely make the best choice for Megaton..." He said smiling. He had secretly been bribing the other elders into putting a better word in for him, than Xenith.

Trias Raised his forepaw, signaling them to leave. Both dragons left them chamber and Xenith confronted his rival in the hallway.

"Don't think I don't know that you've been bribing the other elders Gafron! Your crooked tactics will only bring you defeat!" He growled.

He simply laughed at this and responded

"Think what you will Xenith, but know this. My first act as head elder will be to...'retain' my opponents, and their families, indefinitely!"

Xenith stood stunned. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?

"This is not a dictatorship! You wont touch my family! I swear if you so much as look at them I'll-"

"You'll what? You can do nothing to me. Everyone knows how much you envy me, if something happened to me, they would know who was responsible. As you know, the head elder has absolute power in Megaton. Or, he will. As soon as I abolish the elder council, I'll be able to do whatever I damn well please. The glorious revolution will start here in Megaton, but it will end in the capital! You see Xenith, Megaton has all the Holy crystals. With this leverage, I will force the grand council to appoint me Chief Elder, or I will attack. They wouldn't dare risk bloodshed, and they wouldn't dare attack the holiest site in all of the Creators lands. Soon Xavier, very soon, I will have unlimited power. So you better start trying to get on my good side." He sneered back.

"May the best dragon win." Gafron said walking away.

Xenith was in shock. If he lost, his family was in grave danger. He _had_ to win. For his family, and for Megaton.

xXx

Ria heard faint voices coming from far off in the woods, causing her to raise her head and look in that direction. She tried to determine who they belonged to as they drew nearer.

She recognized the owners of the voices and her heart dropped to her stomach.

"No...Alexis!" She said in fear to herself as she began to tremble, looking for a place to hide. She heard the rustling of bushes coming ever nearer as she scrambled out of the meadow.

"Hey did you guys hear that?" She heard Alexis say.

"Yeah, I think there is something in the woods over there!" One of them said.

Ria walked slowly back towards her house as quietly as possible, until she snapped a twig with her back foot.

'Oh no...' She thought.

"Over there! Hey its mount Baldmore!" Alexis shouted as her and her gang came out of the bushes.

Ria was paralyzed with fear. She could only sit and stare as they walked toward her.

"Hi...Alexis..."

"I don't remember telling you to speak! I like this forest. I think we should elect a ruler dont you guys?" She asked her crew. They of course agreed.

"So, all in favor of me?" Alexis asked, and all of her friends agreed.

She smiled and looked back at Ria.

"Well, my first act as queen of the forest, is to order all hornless freaks to bow before me!"

"Hmm...I don't see any here...oh wait! There's one! Freak! Bow before your queen!" She said smirking.

Ria was still frozen in place, feeling the tears of fear gathering in her young emerald eyes. She tried to repress them, but they soon made their presence known.

Alexis growled and turned to her friends.

"Make her bow!" She snapped angrily. Her thugs grabbed the much smaller Ria and threw her hard to the ground before Alexis, cutting up her elbows and knees to the point of bleeding.

Her tears flowed freely at this point, as she began to sob.

"That's more like it! Now, my second act, I think we should play a game!" She announced and her friends agreed with cheers.

"Lets play hunt the beast!" She shouted to the glee of her gang and the horror of Ria.

"You better run Baldy! We're gonna give you some horns when we catch you!" Alexis jeered as Ria scrambled into the woods, running as fast as her little legs would carry her. She had no idea where she was going but she wasn't going to stop running until she collapsed from exhaustion. She could hear her pursuers thundering through the woods behind her as she went. She charged straight through the sharp shrubs cutting up her scales to no end, though she ran through the pain.

"We almost have her! Wait till we catch you!" One of them called as she saw an old rickety rope bridge across a massive canyon. the bottom of the expanse was obscured by fog, but it was obviously a long way down. Without so much as a second thought, she darted across the bridge, feeling it gently sway under her weight and the wind. Alexis stopped at the foot of the bridge and put a forepaw on the first plank. It snapped in half and she screamed as she withdrew her foot. She looked toward the other side and saw Ria disappear into the fog on the other side. She growled in aggravation and addressed her crew.

"C'mon guys, there's no way she'll make it back across this thing." She said turning around and heading back to Megaton.

Ria was still at full sprint, not noticing that the woods had become shrouded in fog. She finally began to slow down as her legs protested any further movement. She slowed to a trot, and then a walk as she sniffed up her tears and looked around.

"Whe- Where am I?" She said aloud looking around through her watery eyes. She could see only a few feet in front of her in every direction as the calls of unfamiliar animals filled her ear.

No sooner had her tears dried up then she began to feel them return. She was completely and totally lost.

"Mommy!? Mooooooommy!" She called into the fog, with only her echo's reply. She began to slowly walk forward into the fog, calling for her mother and father, becoming increasingly panicked. She continued into the fog sobbing as she soon stopped walking and sat on her haunches in tears. It was hopeless; she had gone so far into the forbidden forest that she couldn't hope to find her way out now. Her wings weren't strong enough to lift her into the air yet, so she was stuck here on the ground. Knowing this, she did the only thing a 7 year old could do. She curled up there, tucking her tail close to her and cried. For what felt like hours she wept until she finally looked up and saw something peculiar. The thick fog in front of her swirled around and began to clear into what looked like a corridor. She stopped her crying and looked toward the strange phenomenon and saw an old building overgrown with vines. It looked like it was hundreds of years old. Something was strangely calming to Ria about this place. It was as if it wanted her to come inside it. Safety was inside this place, whatever it was. Safety from inattentive brothers, and that mean Alexis. She stood up on all fours and carefully sniffed the air. It too, was inviting, so she tentatively stepped toward the temple. The large vine covered wooden doors were slightly ajar, beckoning her inside.

'This looks like the temple back home...' She thought.

She stepped up to the threshold of the door and peered inside. It was really dusty, and cracks in the ceiling allowed the main chamber to be illuminated from the sun outside. She stepped inside and took a quick look back to make sure the door was still open, then turned her attention back inside. There was a large dragon statue in the center of the room. It was weathered and cracked, it looked to be just as old as the building itself. She walked around the statue and came upon another hallway, with a few broken in doors. She walked in the first room and it looked as though it had been ransacked, then abandoned. Holy crystals grew randomly throughout the room and out of the walls, just like they did in the center of Megaton. She got an uneasy feeling after walking to where the bed used to be. There was a stain on the floor, though she couldnt tell what it was. The front door slammed shut loudly and startled Ria as it echoed through the empty temple. She stumbled toward the door and smacked her ankle on a piece of rubble. She cried out and fell onto a large Holy crystal. She tried to move away from it, Remembering what she was told happened to those who touched the scred gems, but before she could get far enough away, she fell unconscious.

**Oh Noes! Ria's lost deep in the forest and no one knows she's out there! and whats up with this deserted temple? questions to be answered next chap! Peace readers!**


	3. Chapter 3 Enter Mr B

**CHAPTER 3 **

Ria's head was pounding as she opened her eyes. She focused on a black blur which was sharply brought into focus as she raised her head up.

"Hey, hey, easy! That was quite a bump on your head little one." The black dragon said looking her over.

"Wh-who are you?" She asked scared, remembering she was in a strange place, lost in the woods.

He smiled warmly at her and answered

"My name is... Mr. Bubbles." the strong, muscular looking young adult said.

She giggled slightly at this and began to try and dry her tears.

"Why is your name Mr. Bubbles?" She asked beginning to smile.

He laughed softly and held up a single claw. Bubbles soon burst forth by the hundreds from his claw tip.

Ria laughed in earnest for the first time since being here.

"That's really neat. Are you magic?" She asked.

He smiled again and answered

"You could say that. I'm sorry little miss but I didn't catch your name?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm Ria." She said, her tears finally drying.

"Very nice to meet you Ria. Now if I may ask, what are you doing all the way out here in the forbidden forest?" He asked.

Her expression sank to one of sadness as his morphed to one of intrigue.

"I was running..."

"Running? From what?"

"...This mean girl and her friends..." She hesitantly answered.

He lifted her chin up with his claw and brought here eye to eye with him.

"You're different from the other dragons aren't you Ria?" He asked

"Yes...If you didnt notice, I dont have any horns." She lamented.

He simply smiled that warm comforting smile and looked to her.

"Oh, sweetheart you're beautiful with or without horns. I'm different too, you know. Even I got picked on when I was your age." He said

This was quite the revelation to her. He got picked on? He looked as normal as everyone else she had ever seen! What could someone possibly find wrong with him?

"Why?"

"Because I didn't think the same way everyone else did and...I was...purple." He said, his warm smile drooping slightly

Her eyes widened. She had never seen a purple dragon before. In fact, she had never so much as imagined it.

"Really? How come you're black now?" She asked, her fear now long gone, replaced by curiosity.

"That's nothing to concern yourself with my dear, now lets get you out of this dingy old temple." He said as she got up off the Holy crystal she had been leaning against.

They walked out to the front door in which she had entered and stepped out into the still foggy forest at sunset.

"Oh no, Mr. Bubbles, I don't know how to get back to Megaton!" She said slightly panicked.

"I know how to get there, follow me Ria." He said walking into the fog as she followed along behind him. They came to the same old rope bridge she had ran across and he crossed it without so much as making it sway. She followed carefully until she was safely on the other side. She kept up with her new friend as best as she could, but his larger strides were giving her trouble.

"I...I've never had a friend before Mr. Bubbles..." She admitted embarrassed. He looked to her and smiled once more.

"I'd be honored to be your friend Ria." He said as they came upon the clearing she was initially chased from.

"This is my favorite place in all of Megaton! Its where I came to be alone, but I don't have to be alone anymore now that you're here!" She said beaming at her new friend.

They sat in the field and watched the clouds for a few minutes before Ria sat up.

"Its getting dark, my mommy wants me inside before the sun sets." she said.

"Yes, well...that's fine then. Thank you for finding me, I was very lonely out there until you came along." He said sadly.

She frowned and tried to think. She didn't want her only friend to leave now!

"Hey! I know! You can come home with me! There's plenty of space in my room!" She said excitedly as the idea hit her.

"Well, the temple does get awfully drafty at night...sure, I'd love to!" He said happily.

She took her new friends claw and trotted merrily down the worn path back to her house, happier than she had ever been.

They arrived at the mouth of her family's cave and she called for her mother as she walked in.

"Mommy! I have a new friend I want you to see!" She said excitedly. Her mother appeared from the eating area and looked at her daughter.

"...Where is your friend sweetie?" She asked.

"Silly mommy he's right here!" She said pointing to him.

She didn't see anything next to her daughter, so she assumed she had created an imaginary friend.

"Oh right! There he is! What is his name dear?"

"His name is Mr. Bubbles! He found me when I was lost in the woods today!" She said happily.

Her mothers expression shifted from perplexed to stern as she scolded her daughter.

"Ria I told you not to go into the wilderness hundreds of times! When are you going to start listening?"

She looked down and lowered her head in remorse.

"Go to your room until your father gets home Missy." She said aggravated. This wasn't the first time Ria had wandered into the woods and gotten lost. The last time it took her father and brother all day to find her.

She took Mr. Bubbles claw again and led him there.

Once they were securely in her room, she climbed onto her bed and Mr. Bubbles sat on the floor.

"My mom doesn't really like it when I go into the woods... She says I'm too little." She lamented sadly.

"Do you get along with your parents?" He asked.

"...Yes. I love my mommy and daddy. And Jerrath...but I don't think he likes me very much..."

He cocked his head slightly and continued to question Ria.

"Who is Jerrath?" He asked

"He's my big brother."

"What makes you think he doesn't like you?"

"He doesnt talk to me very much...I get really lonely at school." She said frowning, remembering that place she feared and loathed.

"But that's all going to change now that you're here!" She said changing moods on a dime.

"School huh? Why do you get lonely there?" He asked

"Because there is a really mean girl there who always picks on me..." She said saddening again.

"Whats her name?"

"Alexis. Shes the biggest girl in our class, so I cant do anything to stop her."

"This is the same girl who chased her through the woods today?"

"Yeah..."

Mr. Bubbles considered this and then voiced his opinion.

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"...Yes. But she never stops..." She said starting to cry.

"Sometimes I just want to run away from school and never come back." She sobbed.

He perked up and thought about what she just revealed.

'I cant have her running away. Looks like I may have to help her deal with this Alexis girl.' He thought.

"Don't you think your parents would miss you?" He asked.

She stopped crying and considered his words.

"Tell you what Ria, how about I go with you to school tomorrow and I'll talk to this girl."

"Really? You mean it?" She said smiling hopefully at him.

"Sure thing sweetheart."

"Oh thank you Mr. Bubbles!" She said jumping off her bed and hugging him.

He stroked her head and looked out of her window toward Megaton and smiled mischievously.

'Soon...very soon.' He thought narrowing his eyes into a glare.

"Ria! Time for dinner!" Her mother called from outside her room.

She looked up from her hug and gave her new friend one good squeeze before letting him go.

"C'mon Mr. Bubbles! Mom makes the best food!" She said running out to the dinner table.

He followed her down to where the rest of her family was already seated.

Ria grabbed a spare chair from the corner and set it next to hers.

"What are you doing sweetheart?" Her father asked.

"I'm getting a chair for Mr. Bubbles! Did you forget he was here?" she asked.

Jerrath rolled his eyes and Her mother smiled slightly

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about him."

"Do you want something to eat?" Ria asked her friend.

"No, I'm fine, thank you Ria." He said taking his seat beside her.

Her mother looked at her and then asked.

"Well? Is he hungry?" She asked playing along.

"He said no. Didn't you hear him?"

"Oh for ancestors sake..." Jerrath groaned.

"What?" Ria asked hearing his complaint.

"There is no one there!"

"Yes huh! He's right here! Mom, you and dad can see him right?"

They looked at each other and then back at their daughter.

"Well, we believe he is there if you say he's there Ria." Her mother said.

This broke her heart. Could Mr. Bubbles be just her imagination?

"How come they cant see you?" She asked after a quiet dinner and after going back into her room.

"Only you can see me Ria! I choose to be your friend, and when I did, I'm visible only to you!" He said happily laying down on a spare cushion in her room.

"Is it ok if I sleep here?" He asked.

"Yes, I guess it is getting past my bedtime. Mommy will be in here to tuck me in soon. Night night Mr. Bubbles!" she said climbing into her bed.

Her mother soon came in and gave her a goodnight kiss, and left for the night as her and her father stayed up talking about their day, as they usually did.

"Mr. Bubbles?" She asked sleepily.

"Yes Ria?"

"You'll still go to school with me tomorrow right?"

"I sure will."

"Good...Night Mr. B..."

"Night Ria."

xXx

In the main room of the cave, Xenith (Zee-nith) addressed his wife about what he had heard from Gafron that day.

"I have to get the head elder position Hera. If I don't, Gafron said he would claim absolute power, and lock up all his rivals, and their families. That means us..." He said soberly.

"The elder council wouldnt allow that!" She objected.

"It doesn't matter, he's going to abolish it when he comes to power. Then he is going to try and take over the capital, and rule all of the territories."

Hera was stunned. How could something like this happen here?

"...but he cant attack the capital...they would crush him with the city guard alone-"

"No, they wouldn't attack Megaton, for fear of angering the Creator. Those are his crystals after all..."

Hera was at a loss for words. After a few minutes of silence as her mate stared blankly into the fire she asked

"What can we do?"

"Pray. Pray that they pick me over that son of a bitch."

**The elder race is heating up! and it seems like Ria is the only one who can see Mr. B. So how will he talk to Alexis tomorrow? all will be revealed! next chap.**


	4. Chapter 4 Karma

**CHAPTER 4**

Morning broke the next day and Ria was stirred from her sleep by her friends muzzle.

"Wake up Ria, your mother says its time for school." He said as she rubbed her eyes with her wingtips as she did every morning.

"Ok..." She yawned as the normal dread began to fill her, but was quickly cast aside as she realized who would be joining her in class today.

'He's as big as Jerrath! Alexis wouldn't dare pick on me with him around!' She thought happily as she got ready for school and bounded down the stairs.

"Your looking happy today pumpkin." Xenith commented to his daughter not looking up from the daily scroll.

"I am daddy! Mr. Bubbles is going to school with me today!" she said excitedly.

"That's good, you and him have fun now." He said putting away the scroll and gathering his son to take him to school.

Ria sat at the table and turned to her friend.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Nope."

"Do you ever eat Mr. B?"

He laughed slightly and answered.

"...Every now and then..."

She shrugged and turned around to keep eating as her mother joined her.

After a quick breakfast, they were off. They were running a bit late, so they had no time to stop and pray to the Holy crystals, they could only afford a passing bow.

"What are those?" Mr. B asked, eyes widening at the sight of the giant crystals.

"Those are from the creator. We have to talk to them for some reason, but I guess we aren't gonna do that today." She said as she was pulled along by her mother.

He stopped and stared at the massive objects.

'That's it...that's how I will-' His thoughts were interrupted by Ria calling to him.

"C'mon! Dont get so far behind!" She yelled to him. He growled then put on a smile and faced her

"Coming Ria!" He said running to catch up.

They arrived at school well before Alexis and her bullies got there. She sat on her cushion and Mr. B sat on the floor beside her, and wrapped his tail neatly around his feet.

after a few minutes of waiting, Alexis came in, and made a bee-line for her.

"Here she comes Mr. B..." She said with fear in her voice.

He turned his head in her direction and sized up the girl she was talking about.

'Ha! That's it? This will be easy...' He thought getting off his haunches and facing the bully.

"You think you got away yesterday? You think its funny to make a fool out of me in front of my friends?" She said seething with rage.

Ms Silverhorn was nowhere to be found and Ria felt tears building in her eyes.

"DO YOU?!!?" Alexis screamed in her face.

"Mr. B what do I do?" she whimpered softly.

"Who are you talking to freakshow?!" She demanded.

"Stand up." Mr B said to her softly but commandingly.

She did as he told her and faced her tormentor.

"Now, I want you to close your eyes, and on the count of three, roar, as loud as you can, ok?" He instructed.

"Roar? But what will that-"

"Just trust me Ria, it'll all be ok. After this, Alexis will never pick on you again." He said

"Ready?" He asked

She nodded as Alexis' patience grew thin.

"That's it! Time for you to pay for humiliating me!" She said raising her fist to Ria.

Mr B put his tail tip on Ria's back between her wings and closed his eyes. He reopened them into a glare and they began to glow dark purple.

"One...two...three!" He growled

Alexis fist was inches away from Ria's face when she roared as loud as she could. A pulse of dark energy flowed from Mr. B's tail into little Ria, and exiting violently through her muzzle. She felt something rush down her back and tingle all the way down to her paws. It felt strangely satisfying as she felt the newfound warmth exit through her muzzle. She was almost sad to see it go, but couldn't wait to see the look on Alexis' face when she stopped roaring. The dark beam fired from Ria's muzzle was huge as it hit Alexis in the face and sent her through two walls and burning everything it touched as it blinded all around her.

As soon as it began, it was over. Ria closed her mouth and opened her eyes. She saw the massive trench she had made with what she thought was her roar, but realized was some kind of energy.

"I don't think she'll be bothering you anymore." He said smiling smugly.

Just then Ms. Silver horn darted in after hearing the noise.

"Oh my Ancestors, what happened here?!" She demanded.

"Ria went crazy and attacked Alexis! She wasn't doing nothin either!"one of Alexis' gang said.

She walked through the rubble of both walls and saw Alexis half buried and bleeding from various places.

"We need to get a healer in here quickly!" She said running out of the room calling for help.

The healers carted Alexis off to the medical ward and Ria's parents were called as were Alexis'.

"Where is she?! Where is that monster who hurt my little girl?!" Gafron demanded bursting through the crowd that had now formed. Ria was now standing outside the room, looking desperately for Mr. B, but he was nowhere to be found.

"I know that thing was a danger to normal society! Chain her up immediately!" He ordered as his guards sprung into action. No one could stop them as Ria's father wasn't there yet.

She was harshly chained and guarded by two soldiers as she listened to Gafron rant to the current elders, who were also called to the scene.

"When I'm head elder, I can assure you that beasts like these are dealt with before they can hurt innocent hatchlings!"

"Typical Gafron! Playing your daughters injury to gain political momentum!" Xenith said interrupting his rant having just arrived.

"That offspring of yours is a evil monster!" He shouted at him angrily.

"You dare call a seven year old girl an evil monster?" He asked dryly.

"She nearly killed my daughter!" He shouted, so angry his normal grey face was now red.

He turned away from Gafron and saw his daughter chained up.

"Whats the meaning of this?! Unchain her now! She is not a criminal she's a little dragoness!"

"I dont think that is in the best interest of the people of Megaton Xenith. She will be taken back to the temple and locked in solitary for observation." Gafron said, as his payed off elders nodded in agreement.

"It is the will of the council." Gafron added with a smug smile on his face that Xenith would love to cut off if he thought he could get away with it.

"Whats going on daddy?" Ria asked through tears.

"They're...going to take you to the temple for a little while sweetheart..." he said tearing up in frustration over not being able to help his daughter.

"Mr. Bubbles told me to do it because Alexis wouldn't stop being mean to me." She tried to explain, but Xenith just nodded and hugged his only daughter.

"I'll come see you soon Ria, ok? I love you." He said kissing her on the forehead.

The soldiers picked her up and carried her away.

"Daddy! Don't let them take me there!" She shouted as she looked over the shoulder of one of the soldiers. He had given up the ability to protect his daughter for a shot at power. He couldnt bear to think about what he had just done. Her mother then landed next to him and they just hugged each other and cried as their little girl was carted off like a common criminal.

xXx

Jerrath fought to stay awake in his first class of the day, as the unreasonably boring lecture being given by his instructor was interrupted by another teacher opening the door and whispering to her.

This perked him up as well as the rest of his class as she looked at him. He continued to whisper as she gasped and covered her mouth with her paw in shock.

"Jerrath, you need to go to Ms. Silverhorns room right now." She said in an urgent tone.

He was glad to get out of that class, thought he was slightly confused as to why he had to go to that room. If he remembered right, that was his sisters teacher. He hoped she didn't do anything crazy that would reflect badly on him. He'd never hear the end of it from his friends if she was going on about that imaginary friend of hers.

He came upon the room and saw what looked like a three ring circus. Elders, soldiers, staff and students were all gathered around the room.

He pushed through the crowd and saw his parents holding each other

"Mom, dad! Whats going on here?" He asked walking up to them.

His mother immediately hugged him as he continued his questioning.

"I love you too mom, but what was I called out here for?" He asked. His mother was in tears, so his father had to explain.

"Well son...Ria attacked Gafrons daughter. She's in the medical ward. The witnesses say she used dark energy."

'Dark energy?' He thought. He had learned about that in ancient history class. Dark energy hadn't been practiced in hundreds of years! How would his little sister know how to do that?

"Thats ridiculous! Ria doesn't know how to use dark energy! No one does!" He said.

"I know Jerrath, but the witnesses say different...and it was Gafrons daughter." He answered sadly.

"Where is she? Let me talk to her!" He said angrily.

"She was taken to the temple to be locked up for observation..." He said frustrated.

He looked back at her classroom, and at the smoldering hole she made in the wall and thought.

'How...?'

**ok, I'm sorry to say this but I have finals to study for and the next update may not come for a while. and on top of that, my laptop screen is wrecked, so its in the shop, and I'm using my roomates computer. he is never off of it long enough for me to write, only to review and maybe read a little. peace.**


	5. Chapter 5 Locked Up

**CHAPTER 5**

Xenith and his family immediately followed the elders to the temple to see what could be done about his daughter. A normal schoolyard scrap was one thing, but a massive display of dark power was quite different. Xenith walked quickly to the elders and demanded to know when his daughter would be released.

"Elder Kairo is evaluating her now. We will not allow evil in our village. If found, it must be purged immediately." Gafron sneered, the concern for his daughters wellbeing now no more than an afterthought.

"She is not evil!"

Just as Xenith was held back by his wife and son, Kairo entered the room and addressed her concerned parents.

"She appears to have befriended an apparition only visible to herself. She claims that you also acknowledged the existence of a 'Mr. B'?" He asked

"Well yes, but it was just her imaginary friend." He reasoned

"She said that this 'Mr. B' told her it would be ok to attack Gafrons daughter."

"It looks like an unstable home life is responsible for this." Gafron interjected to the increasing anger of Xenith.

He lunged at him but was caught by his son, who was struggling to keep him from tearing Gafron apart.

He flinched but recovered and commented

"This type of anger cannot be accepted if he is to be our leader. A good leader must keep a level head at all times." He said smiling as the elders nodded.

"This is ridiculous! Let me see my daughter at once!"

Elder Trias entered the room and hostilities ceased.

"There will be an examination of the girl at sunset. If she has darkness in her soul, we will find it." He spoke softly. It was said to be an honor to hear him speak at all, but no consolation to the injustice being done here.

The towns dwellers were terrified of evil spirits, and anything aligned with the darkness. A plague had descended on the dragon species two generations before, thought to be caused by dark magic and those associated with it. During the mass hysteria, as the public searched for someone to blame, the outcasts and undesirables were killed en mass to try and appease the Creator. Thousands died from the plague and pestilence. Though order had long since been restored, fear and chaos of another outbreak rested just beneath the surface of the minds of all dragons old enough to remember its horrors. Evil, even if in the form of a child, must be purged from society, lest they anger the Creator and repeat the hell of years past.

RIA (after talking with Kairo)

The rest of that morning was just a sobful blur as Ria was interrogated and then taken to the temple. She was locked in a small cell that was barely fit for a hardened criminal, let alone a little girl. There was a small barred window, high above her where dim light managed to filter through. Ria huddled in the cleanest part of the cell, alone and confused as every now and then, one of the guards would peer into her cell and wonder why they had been ordered to imprison a child. Rats were her only companion, and they were easily the length and twice the width of her tail. Thankfully, they paid her no attention as they seemed more concerned with eating what appeared to be the previous occupant of her current residence. She could barely stand the smell as she covered her sensitive nose with her wings. Tears stained her face as she closed her eyes, flushing out ever more as she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello Ria..."

She opened her eyes and saw that Mr. B was standing in front of her with a look of guilt on his face.

"Where did you go? How come you didn't stop those mean people from taking me here?" She asked angrily through her fear.

He sighed and looked away from her face, pausing and strode closer.

"Ria...I had to go...because..." He trailed off before holding out his open paw to her then covering it with his other as he stood on his hind legs.

"I had to get you this!" He said happily as he opened his claws to reveal a silver necklace with a gold star and red gem charm in the center.

Even though she was in a dank, dingy prison cell, she smiled widely as he put it around her neck. No one had ever given her a gift like this before, not even her parents! Despite his mysterious disappearance, she dropped her anger with him the way only a child could after getting a gift and addressed the situation at hand.

"Now what?" She asked, her tears drying now that her friend had come back.

His face changed back to the same somber expression he wore upon entering.

"I don't want to scare you Ria, but the Elders are going...to kill you for being friends with me." He lied.

She was so shocked her jaw nearly hit the floor.

"K...kill me...?" She stammered.

"Yes Ria, that's why I'm only your friend and no one elses. Everyone else hates me, and tries to hurt the people I care about..." He frowned, there was even the glint of a tear in the corner of his eye.

"But daddy wouldn't..." She stopped mid sentence. Up until now, she knew her parents wouldnt let anything like this happen to her, but she was just arrested and thrown in jail without so much as a struggle from her mother _or _father. Who knows what they would let happen to her now, which scared her more than ever.

"W-what are we gonna do?" She asked beginning to cry again.

"We are busting out of here!" He said grinning mischievously.

Ria was weary of Mr. B's plans at this point, as they were the reason she was here in the first place.

"I don't know Mr. B..."

He looked at her reassuringly and spoke.

"Ria I'm your friend, I know I made a mistake here, but at least let me make it up to you. Dont you trust me?" He said grinning.

There were daggers in his smile.

She nodded.

"Good, I know exactly how to escape."

"How?"

"Just close your eyes, and we'll be outside!" He said happily.

She was reluctant, but closed them. After all, what did she have to lose?

His tail tip glowed purple once more, and he grinned sadisticly as before.

"So it begins..." He whispered.

As he was about to enter her body when the door lock clanged open and he looked at the door. A guard was coming through it. He cursed his luck and disappeared as Ria opened her eyes.

"...Mr. B...?"

"Time for your trial." He said keeping his spear trained on her. He had been told he would die if he so much as touched her.

"Come quickly. The Inquisitors await!"

Ria slowly walked on her shaking legs out the door, kept at spears length from her escorts. She was immediately shackled and led to the ritualistic council chambers as the trial began. For those who remembered the heresy trials of years past, no one accused was ever found innocent...

Her life was now in the claws of four paid off, superstitious elders, an old head elder whose time for sensible rule had long since passed, and one evil megalomaniac. If a miracle was to come, it had better come quickly.

xXx

Jerrath couldn't eat. he sat and stared blankly at the food before him, as his parents did in silence. You never realize how important someone is in your life until they are gone, and for him, he was slowly realizing this. His parents had always gotten onto him about being nicer to his sister, or even recognizing her as his sibling, but he never did. He never tried, not in the least in fact. It was cold outside as winter began to set in. The sun was still high in the sky, and unbeknownst to them, little Ria's trial for heresy would soon begin.

Jerrath excused himself and went to his room and sat down on his bed. How could this have happened? There was no way his sister was evil, and no way she knew how to use dark magic. Something didn't seem right about all this. He looked out of his window and onto the town before feeling tired as he then laid on his bed. He felt himself drift off to sleep, the worry for his little sister heavy on his mind for the first time he could remember. He began to sleep, but the dream this day would be quite different from any other he had experienced before.

**I love dream sequences huh? sorry for the shortness of the chap, but a lot of them may be short. anyway, spyro makes his appearence next chap! and maybe even cynder! anyway, a trial for heresy! for a little girl! how could the townspeople allow this? ppl go to extreme lengths to avoid evil. stay tuned for the results! **see ya!


	6. Chapter 6 Convicted

**CHAPTER 6**

Jerrath found himself in a grassy field, the warm sun felt great on his scales and the sky was a soft shade of blue. There was nothing but more grass and rolling hills for miles, except for what looked like a temple in the distance. Before he could move, he was transported to the front doors. He was greeted by an unfamiliar black dragoness, and a purple dragon who seemed familiar to him, yet he couldn't place where he had seen him right off the top of his head. The female was quite attractive to him, even though she appeared to be a few years older than he was.

"Who are you?" Jerrath asked

"My name is Spyro. This is my mate Cynder." The purple dragon said bowing. Jerrath bowed in return.

"What am I doing here? What is this place?" He asked

"This place is the old dragon temple. The very first ever built." Spyro said

"You must find this place, if you want to save your sister from the darkness that is slowly consuming her Jerrath." Cynder said knowing a thing or two about being consumed by darkness.

"What? How do you know about Ria?"

They glanced at each other and continued.

"Trust us. Find this temple if you want to save your sister from a fate worse than death..." Spyro said as they began to fade away back into darkness. Jerrath woke up in his own room, only an hour having passed since he slept. The face of the purple dragon in his dream was so familiar...then he remembered where he had seen him before. He grabbed his Draconic Heritage scroll and opened it the appropriate length. He was _the _purple dragon in his book and from his heritage classes! He had lived so long ago, no one had known his name, only the fact that a purple dragon had saved the world from destruction. What was the hero of the dragon race doing in his dream? He was just some kid in a hole-in-the-wall town out in the woods. He shrugged off his dream as just that and exited his room.

He left his cave without so much as a word to his parents, who weren't anywhere to be found anyway. He flew to the temple and tried to get in to see his little sister.

Two enormous guards crossed their spear shaped tails and blocked his way.

"I want to see my sister, let me through!" He demanded.

The guards smiled and smugly replied

"No one may enter while the high inquisition is in session."

"My sister is the one on trial!"

"Then you must wait for her to be released."

"But no one is ever released from a heresy trial!"

"Then I guess you'll have to see her in hell!" The largest one on the right said.

This infuriated the young dragon, and he snapped at him and caught hold of his forepaw. He growled and threw Jerrath through the ground and then beat him harshly until he was near unconscious.

"Now get out of here!" The smaller one shouted as Jerrath limped away. Try as he might, the biggest in his class was nothing compared to the biggest in Megaton. He made it to the outskirts of town and rested on a grassy hill to lick his wounds. He laid on his back and looked up at the still blue sky, hating having been defeated and wondering what to do next.

xXx

The shackles around Rias ankles, forepaws and neck were cold as ice as she was led down the dim hallway by her five guard escort. Overkill would have been a good word to describe how massive the guards transporting her were. The elders must clearly be convinced of her guilt. They stopped at a door with torches on either side. The front guard knocked nine times, and someone from inside rapped on the door three times, the he knocked once more. The door was opened, and the first guard and the one at the door gave some secret word and embrace as to allow entry. The customs used in a heresy trial were ancient and unchanged.

Ria was poked by a spear from behind and she jumped with a small yelp. Apparently she was supposed to enter. The room was dark except for two candles sitting beside Trias, whose seat was raised, and he was flanked by two elders on each side. They wore black robes with necklaces bearing the symbol of the creator, a circle made of the glowing crystals the town was built around. The guard remained at the door and Ria stood alone before the council of elders.

"Ria, Daughter of Xenith, you have been accused of heresy by practicing dark magic, and gaining such malevolent powers by fornication with the Devil. How do you plea?"

Ria barely understood what Trias said, as those words were not in her vocabulary yet, but she grasped the gist of his sentence. Through crippling fear, she almost whispered

"I-Innocent..."

"Bah! Lies!" A voice from behind her scoffed. She was startled and looked back to see Gafron standing by the guards.

"Silence Gafron!" Trias insisted.

"Witnesses had seen a display of your dark powers this morning resulting in the injury of a girl your age. What say you to this?" Kairo asked

Ria was still scared stiff, but managed to speak nonetheless.

"...She was being mean to me, and Mr. B said it would be ok if-"

"Mr. B is it?! Thats ludicrous, she's guilty!" He cried again

"I will have your silence or you will be removed from this court!" Trais growled.

"This Mr. B is only visible to you?" Kairo continued

"Yes...He says he only wants to be my friend..."

"And yet he was the one who gave you dark powers and told you to use them on another child?"

Ria stayed silent as the answer was obvious.

"Nothing further your excellence." He said allowing Trias control of the court once more.

"There is only one way to test weather darkness dwells in her soul. Bring the staff of truth."

A clergyman entered from the shadows and presented elder Trias with a five foot gold staff with the same ring on the top as was around their necks. Its eerie glow cast a green light on the aging head elders face as he walked and stood in front of Ria.

"Gaze upon the symbol of the Creator. Should this emblem burn your flesh, then in your heart, darkness resides." He said.

He lowered the end of the staff with the glowing ring closer and closer, approaching her right hind leg. She whined in fear as she watched it get closer to her hindquarters.

He pressed it to her scales and she cried out as he held it there for two seconds and removed it. The evidence was indisputable now. A circle was burned onto the top of her right leg near her tail. Tears flowed from her eyes but she bit her lip to stop from crying aloud. Elder Trias sighed heavily. He knew what this meant, and it was out of his hands now.

He handed the sacred staff back to the clergyman and resumed his place at the head of the chamber.

"The council will deliberate on a verdict." The four elders went behind a curtain and cast their vote. The head elder only voted in the event of a tie, but this was not likely to happen. As a matter of fact, it never has.

Gafron had all the elders in his pocket, for him, the verdict was already known.

The elders reappeared from behind the curtain and set a box in front of Trias. Inside were the votes that he would tally and announce. He opened it and read through the four ballots. He put them away and faced the young defendant.

"Ria, daughter of Xenith, this coucil finds you guilty of heresy. By law, your punishment is to be cleansed by a mighty fire at dawn." he said in an ominous voice.

Her tears hadn't stopped flowing since he had burned her with the staff. She wasn't even sure what he had said, but she was then taken out of the dark chamber and put back into her cell. She tried to lick her burn but it hurt too much to even move. Mr. B was gone again, and no telling when he would return to rescue her like he said he would. She clutched the charm on her necklace and prayed for him to come quickly.

xXx

As Jerrath lay exhausted on the hill, he heard a distant bell toll, which made him sit up in fear, but not disbelief. The bell was rung when a heretic was uncovered.

He thought about the dream he had shrugged off earlier...

'Where the hell could that temple be? And how do they expect me to find it?' He thought as his mind drifted to the terrible things done to heretics.

He got up slowly and limped into the woods on nothing more than a hunch and a prayer that whatever waited for him at this temple would help him save his sister.

xXx

Xenith was in a daze, staring into the fire he had created to keep the cave warm when he heard the death bell toll. It snapped him out of his trance as he looked toward the sound with tears in his eyes.

"No..."

His wife Herra stepped into the room, her face red and eyes swollen as if she had been crying.

"You heard that? That's Gafron. Killing our daughter while you did nothing!" She screamed at him in rage.

He looked at his wife, then back into the fire as before. The once headstrong politician with an aim to save his town from Gafrons insanity was now a broken shadow of his former self. His rival had finally beaten him. Not through force, but through evil cunning. Herra had been hysterical since the morning, and she showed no signs of calming down.

"So thats it? You give up?" She snarled and waited for an answer.

None came, just a vacant stare into a fire, like the one that would be consuming his own flesh and blood by dawn tomorrow.

She said not another word and fled the cave, never to be seen again.

Xenith didn't care, about her or anything anymore. His daughter would be killed by that bastard Gafron, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was only one dragon, he couldn't take on the temple guard by himself. He was powerless.

He raised his tail to his face and looked at the reflection in his shiny tail tip. He loathed what he saw, a weak, fool who gave up his only daughter so as not to upset the elders. He further examined his bladed tail. It looked sharp...very sharp, and why wouldn't it be? All males were taught to keep their claws and tails as sharp as possible since they were hatchlings. He pressed the cold blade to his neck and thought to himself

'I wonder if its sharp enough to cut scales...'

It was.

xXx

Jerrath traipsed through the dense forest his sister loved so much as a light snow began to fall. The snow burned his cuts as they fell on them getting further lost in the woods. He walked for what felt like hours until he came to an old rope bridge. the first board was broken and it didn't look very stable, so he stretched his wings and glided over the misty canyon and onto the other side. He was greeted by a strange land shrouded in dense fog, as well as snow. He looked around and wondered where he was to go next. As he sat, a tunnel of clear air revealed itself and show him the way to the door to the temple from his dream. Seeing this gave him hope as he stepped towards it as the sun set. He was Rias last hope.

**What awaits jerrath in the temple? find out next chap!**


	7. Chapter 7 Spiritual Guidance

**CHAPTER 7**

He stepped into the door and noticed a small set of footprints in the dust. He looked up from them and saw patches of snow on the floor from the holes in the ceiling. He noticed the glowing crystals growing all over the temple and how worn down the overall structure appeared. He looked around and wondered what was supposed to be in here, as all he could find so far was dust and cobwebs. He stepped lightly farther in and came upon a wing of the temple that looked ransacked. He stepped into one of the rooms and looked around, noticing the damage. He turned to leave and came face to face with the dragons from his dream.

"Gah! W-where did you come from?" He said startled.

"That's not important. We're glad you've decided to heed our warning." Cynder said.

He looked at the two of them and raised a confused eyebrow. They too looked him over, and noticed the cuts and bruises covering his young frame.

"You've suffered for your sister, that's a step in the right direction." Spyro said pleased.

"How did you two get in my dreams? Are you psychic or something?" he asked.

Spyro chuckled slightly as did Cynder.

"No Jerrath, we arent Psychic. We're spirits." He said.

This threw Jerrath for a loop. Spirits? Talking to him? Appearing in plain sight? Impossible. Though they did know his name already...

"So you're spirits are you? If that's true, then you know everything about me right?"

Spyro rolled his eyes and turned to Cynder.

"Why do they never take our word for it?" He groaned.

"Yes, we do." Cynder said.

"Ok then, whats my-"

"43." Spyro answered.

Jerrath was astonished, but continued.

"My middle name-"

"Winston." Spyro quipped

"And my favorite-"

"Lamb chops in a blood marinade." Cynder said.

"Ok...but I've never told anyone about my-"

"Stash of 'Adult scrolls' under your bed?" Spyro finished as Cynder blushed and giggled.

"Believe us now?" He asked slightly annoyed.

"Ok, so you are spirits. You know everything about me, now I want to know about you. Especially you Spyro. What was it like to fight that evil she-devil-"

"Ahem." Cynder said.

"Oh right...sorry...anyway, whats you guys story?" He asked.

Sadness crossed Spyro's face as he began.

"Well, after I saved Cynder from Malefor, we kinda...fell in love and lived the rest of our days together. That is, until we were called to meet the Creator."

"Oh really? If you don't mind my asking, how did you guys...you know...die?"

"Well...It turns out that not everyone was happy with us killing Malefor. The apes especially... it had been many years since he had been defeated, so many that Cynder and I were well past our prime. We kept the location of the temple a secret from the apes after Malefor fell and the elders died. But eventually, they found out where we were hiding..."

_FLASHBACK_

_Spyro burst through the front door of the temple, startling his sleeping mate. Both of them were about the age of Ignitus, maybe a little older this night. Years of fighting have finally caught up with them. The raging storm outside howled as Spyro barricaded the door._

_Cynder rubbed her eyes and got up on all fours walking towards her lover._

_"Whats wrong Spyro?" She yawned._

_He didnt speak, only panted for breath. His silence answered her question._

_"No...How many are there?" She asked waking fully._

_"Hundreds..." He said sadly. There was no way they could fight through that many apes by themselves. If they were caught, they would be tortured mercilessly. Spyro couldn't stand even the thought of those filthy monsters laying their hands on his beautiful Cynder. It nauseated him to no end. But their situation did seem rather hopeless. A loud bang was heard at the doors Spyro had just blocked and drew their attention. They looked at each other with a mix of fear and courage as they slowly made their way to their room. The pounding of the door only grew louder and more frequent as the door began to give way._

_They shut the door to their room and looked deeply in each others eyes. Spyro saw tears in Cynders and this made his begin to flow as well. Cynder looked away, unsure of what to do, but knowing what needed to be done._

_"Well...I guess this is it huh?" She said nervously._

_The door finally gave way with a loud crash which startled the both of them, and only emphasized the sense of urgency in the room._

_Cynder drew close to Spyro as he did to her, both of them raising their tails and slowly wrapping them around each other's necks. _

_"Please don't cry Cynder...It'll only hurt for a second...I promise." He said choking up as well. _

_"Find the dragons! Don't kill them, I want them alive!" Was heard from outside the door in the hallway._

_She closed her eyes and he whispered softly to her_

_"On three...one...two...three..."_

_He kissed her and she returned it as both of their tails whipped around their necks, the razor sharp tailtips quickly severing each others throat. Spyro flinched and felt Cynder flinch as their tails sliced effortlessly through their scales. Spyro caught her as she began to collapse. He felt his own strength fading as his body struggled to use the dwindling supply of oxygen brought on by this suicide pact. Neither could speak any longer as he laid on his back, pulling Cynder on top of his chest, feeling the warmth of her blood on his scales. She pulled herself up to his lips as they locked eyes one last time, his vision fading into darkness. He kissed her lips one last time before he noticed their door fling open and an ape commanders face contorting into one of furious rage upon seeing the dragons blood and dying bodies._

_"Noooo!! Damn you purple dragon!!" He said as a small smirk graced his face before he took his last breath._

_END FLASHBACK_

"Wow...I'm sorry..." Jerrath said feeling terrible about bringing up something so painful.

"Don't be. Whats done is done, I wouldn't have had it any other way." Cynder said.

"Did anyone ever take revenge on the apes? Like your children or someone?"

Cynder shied away in sadness as Spyro fielded this question.

"Cynder wasn't able to conceive after I saved her from Malefor. Thus, the effect of dark magic." He admitted sadly while wrapping his wing around her and kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"Oh..." He said embarrassed for asking the second awkward question in a row.

"Why am I here?" He said quickly changing the subject.

The mood changed immediately as Cynder once again addressed him.

"Firstly, we need to let you in on a few things that your 'elders' have completely wrong." she said.

"Ok. Like what?" He asked

"First off, those Crystals you worship are not holy. In fact, they are the exact opposite. They're dark crystals, and they will burn you if touched. We saw your sisters heresy trial from our world. If you touch anyone's scales with a piece of dark crystal it will burn them." Cynder explained

"Ok...so what does that mean?"

"The way a heretic is proven guilty is by seeing weather or not a piece of dark crystal burns you when they touch you with it."Spyro added.

"So that's why no one is proven innocent..." Jerrath said.

"Exactly. Secondly, this Mr. B Ria has been seeing is no imaginary friend. He is quite real, and very dangerous."

"Really? Who is he?"

"Remember the 'Time of the Great Darkness' that I saved the world from in your Heritage class?" Spyro asked

"...Yeah..." He said cautiously.

"He is the one who started that entire era."

Jerrath eyes widened in white knuckled terror.

"He's...the d-dark master?" He said softly.

"Yes. We don't know what he is planning on, but we think he plans on taking control of your sisters body and harnessing the dark crystals in the center of your town."

Jerrath considered this, and asked

"Why?"

"So he can revive himself and reign darkness over the land once more."

Jerrath was dumbstruck. His sister was a part of some massive evil scheme? How could this be happening? And furthermore, he had always learned that the purple dragon was supposedly the only one who could defeat the dark master. How was he supposed to do that if he's dead?

"How do we stop him?"

"_We _cant stop him. But _you _can. Which is why you're here. We only have one day, so we have to train quickly."

"Wait a second. Ria's execution is at dawn! I have to save her from Gafron and those crazy elders!" Jerrath said worried.

Spyro and Cynder just laughed as they turned to lead him to the training room.

"What is so funny?! My baby sister is going to die!" He shouted angrily.

"Trust me. The dark master wouldnt let the likes of them hurt his vessel. She'll be fine. We're training you to fight him, not Gafron and his band of goons." Spyro said as Jerrath limped behind.

They reached the central training room, which was showing its age. Jerrath looked around and questioned its capability.

"This place is a dump." He stated quite bluntly.

"It may be old, but it will serve our purposes. But before we do any training, we need to get you patched up." Cynder said raising her forepaw and closing her eyes. The markings on her forehead and below her eyes began to glow a soft white as a beam of the same color light descended upon him, making his wounds close up and bruises disappear.

"Wow...I feel amazing! Thanks Cynder."

"No problem." She said walking over to Spyro who had found the lever that activated the dummies in the floor.

"Jerrath, this lever makes dummies appear for you to attack. What element have you mastered?" He asked

Jerraths face turned red as he admitted quietly.

"Uhh...none..."

Spyro turned around and looked at him with a shocked raised eyebrow.

"You haven't mastered an element? Aren't you fourteen?" He asked.

"Yes...I know a little bit about fire, but I'm still pretty much a novice at it..." he admitted sheepishly.

"They dont teach you how to use your elements in school?" He whispered as he addressed him.

"No. Violence is discouraged...we have to figure it out on our own..." He said

"Things sure have changed since our day Cyn..." He muttered as he turned back around.

"Since you aren't a purple dragon, you can only master one element. So I guess we're going with fire." Cynder said as Spyro closed his eyes and raised up on his hind legs and spoke seemingly to the heavens.

"Ignitus, we could use some help down here."

A red silhouette appeared right next to him and began to fill in, taking the shape of a large red dragon.

"Yes Spyro?" He asked.

Spyro turned to Jerrath and said

"This is Ria's brother."

Ignitus looked over to him and approached.

"I'm sorry to hear about your sister, but we are going to do everything we can to make sure you have the tools to save her. I am Ignitus, the master of Fire."

Jerrath bowed and Ignitus returned it.

"My name is Jerrath." He said as Spyro stepped forward with Cynder.

"Ignitus will make you the best fire breather in all the realms." Spyro said confidently.

"Ok...where do we start?" He asked

"I've found the beginning to be a good place." Ignitus said as he stepped beside him.

"Let me see your mightiest flame. Hold nothing back!" Ignitus said as Jerrath squared up and brought himself low to the ground and inhaled. He blew a relatively small to medium sized stream of fire stretching about five feet in front of him.

Ignitus raised an eyebrow at the display and asked

"How old are you?"

Before Jerrath could answer in annoyance Spyro did.

"He's fourteen, he hasn't mastered fire. That's why you're here." He explained.

"Oh...Very well. Pull that lever Jerrath and we may begin your training." The Master of fire instructed.

He nodded and walked over to it. He grabbed it in his jaws and pulled as the rusty device squeaked and grinded before finally giving way, dropping three animated straw dummies from the ceiling. They immediately charged him, and he had enough time to flame one of them, but was quickly jumped by the other two. They beat him repeatedly with their mallets as Cynder, Spyro and Ignitus watched and sighed heavily with embarrassment.

"Lets get them off of him...we have a lot of work to do..." Ignitus said walking toward the young dragon.

**Time for some training! Ignitus will make something fierce of Jerrath yet! the next chap may no come out till after xmas. So Merry Christmas guys!**


	8. Chapter 8 Flashing Lights

**CHAPTER 8**

**My xmas present to you guys!**

Ria spent the entire night crying in her cell. She was going to die. That thought dominated her conscience. How could a seven year old girl comprehend death? The life after? The thought of death scared her, more than anything ever had before. More than a thousand Alexis' or a million uncaring brothers. Why would they kill her just because some stick burned her scales? Everyone thought she was evil, but she didn't know why. Ria hadn't ever gotten in trouble before, and the first time she did she's going to be killed for it! Just her luck...

Every now and then she would glance out of the window to see if the dawn was near. With every look, the night became lighter, making Ria more apprehensive. She prayed that Mr. B would show up before dawn and save her, but as the hours drug on, her hope began to dwindle. The entire night, she had to hear the construction of the very place she would spend her last agonizing moments. It seemed like they were right outside her window, though she was too short to see for sure. The constant pounding of nails and laying of lumber was an ever present reminder of what the dawn would bring.

Finally, though she tried to keep it away through sheer will alone, rays of sunlight shone through the barred windows of her cell. As soon as she noticed this, the heavy padlock on her door was unlocked, and two huge dragons in armor with spears at the ready came to retrieve her.

"Come now Heretic. Time to go." He said as she stepped to them, and they cautiously applied the shackles, being careful not to touch her. She was harshly lead via a leash out of the temple and out onto a stage that had been built for the occasion, as it always was. There was a large stake surrounded by a pile of wood, along with the executioner, a dragon in a black hood, holding a lit torch.

She began to cry loudly as she realized that this was it. No rescue, no parents coming to save her, no Mr. B to help her out of this situation. This was her end.

The guards tied her with chains to the stake as she stood on top of her kindling, staring out over the large crowd that had gathered, despite the early hour. The fiercely cold winter winds numbed her face and threatened to freeze her tears.

They where whispering to each other, and wondering why a child was set to be purged by the mighty pyre before them.

After about half an hour of waiting, the elders also assembled on stage, each dressed just as they were in the trial, while Trias held the staff of truth.

"My fellow dragons and dragoness'! The noble elder council has uncovered evil in our town!" Gafron began. Apparently he was the one in the black hood.

This sent more whispers through the crowd.

"Yes, this heretic used her dark powers on an innocent child no less!" He said trying to whip the crowd into a frenzy.

"She is but a child herself!" One called from the crowd.

Gafron sensed dissent in the crowd, so he decided to play his trump card.

"She posses the same dark power that brought about the great pestilence!" He lied.

The gasp from the crowd was almost simultaneous as the cries for blood Gafron was looking for began to appear out of fear of another outbreak.

He smiled from beneath his black hood as the crowd did indeed clamor for her death. Their panic was so widespread that if killing a child is what it took to keep the rest of them alive, then so be it. They knew no better.

Gafron removed his hood and tossed it to the ground, turning to Trias.

"But first. Elder Trias, have you made your decision?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes. You are now the Head elder." He said handing him the staff of truth.

He grasped it and grinned evilly.

"Guards! Arrest them!" He said referring to the elders. The guards quickly did so.

"Gafron what is the meaning of this!?" Kairo asked.

"This is the end of the line for you! I am in control now." He said turning back around to address the crowd who was already threatening to become violent if nothing was done about the 'evil one' before them.

"The elders were in league with the dark one! Luckily I, am here to protect Megaton! And my dragon brothers, this darkness runs deep in our race! The grand dragon council in Warfang sent _her_ to exterminate the populous! She was sent to infect you all!" He said referring to the still crying Ria.

"Kill her!"

"Burn the heretic!"

Gafron stepped closer to Ria as he continued.

"May the fires cleanse your soul, and prepare you for the flames of hell that surely await you." He said turning to face her.

"Any last words?" He said vindictively as he prepared to set her ablaze.

She seemed to look past him and she began to smile, which perplexed him.

"Mr. B..." She said. It was him alright.

"I'm getting you outta here!" He said smiling at her, approaching with his glowing tail tip.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes." She answered.

"Who are you talking to?" Gafron demanded.

Ria seemed to tense up, and stood rigid for a few seconds, then went limp. Gafron had enough of her games, and was within inches of setting her alight. She rolled her head towards him and stared into his very soul. He noticed and stopped, looking up at her. Her eyes were a glowing dark purple instead of the light green they had been, and she smiled a toothy grin at him.

She blew on his torch and it froze solid, to his shock. She was an earth dragon. How could she control ice?

"Any last words?" She growled.

The dark crystals on the staff of truth began to glow intensely bright as it was ripped out of Gafrons hand and the necklaces around the elders necks were also sucked toward Ria. They touched her scales but instead of burning her, she absorbed them. Stormclouds not seen for hundreds of years quickly covered the skies.

Gafron took a tentative step backwards as she was struck by purple lightning and immediately broke from her bonds. She began to grow at an alarming rate, becoming much larger than an adult in only a few seconds. The crowd cried in terror and began to scatter as Ria smashed the pyre meant for her and scooped Gafron up in both paws. She then began to crush him between her now much larger paws. He screamed in agony as he was further compressed until he literally exploded out of both ends of himself. The stage was coated with his remains as Ria flung the rest of him onto the terrified crowd. She had killed. This was her Rubicon. She had crossed it and there was no going back now. This wasn't Ria anymore, this was all Malefor.

The former elders ran from the stage as the guards tried to fight the dark master, but it was no use. Reliance on tools like spears and swords had weakened their mastery of the elements. He blew purple fire onto the remaining dragons on the stage, burning them to a cinder. After the crowd had dispersed in terror, He set his sights on the thing he needed to increase his powers even more. The large mass of dark crystals at the center of town.

xXx

(Jerrath and Co. a few minutes before dawn.)

Jerrath had come a long way in one night. From barely being able to roast a marshmallow to a column of fire to rival Spyro himself. This, along with close quarters combat tactics, made him easily the toughest in Megaton.

"You have done well Jerrath, as it is almost time for you to face your greatest challenge to date." He said

"Really? What?" He asked.

"Me." Ignitus answered getting in a battle stance.

"B-but how can I fight you? You're a spirit." He asked nervously.

"I don't think the Creator will mind if I interact with the living just this once." He said turning completely solid, instead of slightly transparent like Spyro and Cynder were.

Just as Ignitus was going to attack, Cynder collapsed in pain as the spots under her eyes and on her forehead began to glow dark purple. She placed a paw on her head and moaned.

Spyro immediately caught his weakened mate.

"Cynder are you OK? Whats wrong?" He asked holding her.

"Ahh...Its...him. He's so powerful now...he must have possessed Ria." She said weakly.

"Then there is no time for this. Jerrath you must go, you have no time to lose!" Ignitus said urgently.

"Ok, I'm ready." He said heading for the door.

"Wait, one more thing." Spyro said.

He turned around and Spyro put his paw on Jerraths forehead. It glowed purple like his scales and he felt a tingling run from where Spyro was touching him all the way down to his paws.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"That was the purple dragons fury. You can only use it once, so be sure not to waste it. At the right moment, it will rid your sister of Malefor." He said removing his paw.

"Thank you Spyro...thank you all." He said

Cynder walked beside Spyro and kissed Jerrath on the cheek, turning his normally black scales bright red.

"Good luck Jerrath." she said.

"T-thanks..." He stammered. He had never been kissed before, especially not by anyone as pretty as Cynder, even if she was a spirit.

He left the temple, a huge burden now weighed heavily on his young shoulders, but he was determined to save his sister, at any cost.

xXx

Ria had taken on more of Cynder-esque appearance since Malefor had taken control. Her light green outer scales had darkened considerably, but her white belly scales remained a radiant white. But it was unfair to refer to her as Ria. Truth be told, Malefor was a more appropriate title. She in fact had no control over the actions of her body. As soon as Mr. B had taken control of her, she felt like she had been submerged in a bath of ice water. She was then pulled away from her world as 'Mr. B' took over. It was like her body was a stage, and Malefor had pushed her backstage, with no intention of her re emerging. This was different than Cynders possession, as Cynder was never 'possesed' in the traditional sense, she was just controlled by his magic. Ria however, had the Dark master inside her, controlling her every thought and action. She went along with him however. After all, she had no one else...

Every now and then, a squad of draconic temple guard would muster the courage to try and fight him, but it was always useless. he was just too strong. He eventually reached the 'holy crystals' in the center of town. This was the first piece of the puzzle in his plan. He stood on his back legs and grabbed hold of the mass with both paws as its energy coursed through his stolen body. The same purple lightning from earlier struck him, further increasing his size and strength as Ria was pushed further into darkness, deep within her own body.

"Yes! This is it! I will live again!" He shouted in her voice. He absorbed all fifteen feet of it and was now almost unstoppable. He raised a paw into the air as a ball of lightning gathered in his palm. He slammed it into the ground and it coursed through the ground and set anything in its path on fire. There was chaos in the streets as families ran for cover, and fathers fought to protect their young and their mates. After only twenty minutes, the center of town was quiet, save for the cackle of the burning structures. There was no movement to be seen as the bodies of the slain lay in the street, staining the snow red. Malefor surveyed his handy work and laughed.

"Now for part two!" He said flying off into the northern sky, toward Warfang.


	9. Chapter 9 Lost in the Abyss

**CHAPTER 9**

Jerrath hastily ran out of the woods and took to the air. As soon as he rose above the treeline, he saw smoke coming from the center of town.

"Oh no..." He said increasing his speed.

Ria couldn't have done all this...could she? He landed in front of the temple and looked at the smoldering heap of wood that was the execution stage. He turned his head and took in the ruins that were now his hometown. Death was the only resident in Megaton now. Those who were able fled back to their homes, but not everyone was so lucky. It was so quiet... to Jerrath that was probably the most disturbing thing about where he was. Sure, the bodies offered a visual representation of the power and mercilessness of the beast he was supposed to fight, but the silence...It bore into his mind. It was so unnerving that even the slightest rustle of leaves sounded like the loudest clap of thunder.

"This cant be possible..." He whispered to himself as a noise besides the gentle wind caught his attention. It was coughing. He turned to see one of the temple guards laying just beyond the ruins of the stage.

He snapped out of his daze and ran over to him as fast as he could. Upon getting closer, he slowed his run to a walk, seeing the soldiers condition. His hind legs were mangled terribly, and he had a large gash going across his stomach, blood covering the ground around him and his light yellow and orange scales. Jerrath knelt down next to him and he opened his blue eyes wearily, their color sharply contrasting with the other colors of his body.

"What happened here?"

"The...the girl...sh-she killed...everyone..." He said every breath causing him immense pain.

His fears were all but confirmed. His sister was a murderer...only two days ago she was a normal little dragoness, and now she was some kind of monster. This was his fault and he knew it. All this death, all of this destruction could have been stopped if he had just treated her like she was his sister, and not some annoyance that came crying to him every time someone picked on her. She was born without horns, and that made her special, not a freak. He could even remember times when he turned a blind eye to her bullying. He was disgusted with himself. If he had just been a friend to his own sister, this would have never happened. She would have never had the need to go looking for an imaginary friend, he was sure of it.

He pulled himself from his thoughts and focused back on the dying dragon in front of him.

"Where is she now?" He asked calmly.

He didn't answer.

He used his remaining strength to point in the direction she had flown.

He nodded and stood up, stretching his wings.

"...Wait...you cant...leave me like this..." He said through coughs of the slightest amounts of blood, what little was left in him.

Jerrath looked back down at the wounded dragon. He was easily twice his size, so carrying him to the medical wing was out of the question, if anyone was even alive there. Strangely enough he didn't think being given medical care was what he wanted. He was pretty beat up, and his scales were already loosing their color. The pieces fell together as Jerrath realized what he wanted him to do. He was in shock as his jaw hung open slightly at the idea. He wanted Jerrath to kill him. He had never killed before...Hell, until yesterday he had never even been in a fight, and he didn't really count his beating as a fight. The only thing he could have claimed to 'kill' were the enchanted dummies in that old temple. His grey eyes met the sharp blue ones of the much larger dragon. His eyes were pleading for this as his words were unable to convey his desire anymore due to his weakness. Jerrath saw part of a spear that was broken in half lying next to him. He picked it up with his tail and held it above his chest. It wasn't murder if he _wanted _him to do it right? Still, this wouldn't be easy. He thrust the spear into the soldiers heart, splattering a little bit of his blood on his chest. He looked back into his eyes and saw that they were no longer pleading, but were now consumed with relief.

This was an alien concept to the young dragon. How could death be a relief from anything? Slowly, the spark of life left his eyes as he lay his head back onto the dirt. Jerrath released the spear from his tail and took a step back. He too had killed. The dragon before him probably had a family, friends, dreams and plans just like he did, but now...He had taken his life. Even though he had basically asked him to do it, it was still a disturbing concept to grasp. He had to get away from here, then a question entered his mind that filled him with dread. Where were his parents? He took off toward his cave and landed at the entrance.

"Mom? Dad?" He called into his home.

There was no response from the interior as he took a few cautious steps forward, growing more nervous with every passing second of silence. He walked into the main room of the cave where they ate their meals and saw that the table was still cluttered with the remains of the dinner of the night before. As he went deeper into the cave, he called out once again for his parents, but neither answered.

Coming upon his fathers study, he saw a black forepaw behind the wall separating the rooms. He smiled and ran into his fathers room, figuring he was just asleep.

"Dad! I found this old temple in the woods and-" He stopped in shock as he rounded the corner. He couldn't believe his eyes. Blood stained his fathers normally brilliant white chest and belly scales, while the rest covered the floor. He put his forepaw over his mouth as he recoiled in disbelief.

"...D...Dad...?" He stuttered sadly. His father didn't move. His scales were now faded, just like the soldier in the center of town earlier. He walked forward and grabbed his fathers forepaw. It was cold to the touch, and it didn't feel right at all. He knew what living scales felt like, and these certainly weren't. They felt loose as he joined his other hand on his fathers and fell to his knees in tears. In a few seconds, he had aged many years. Ignitus had told him to prepare himself in the event that someone he cared about was hurt, but he was sure it wasn't going to happen to him. It seemed like the old dragon was right. His sobs echoed through his empty cave as he held his fathers hand close as he grieved.

"Mom...! Where are you?!" He called through his tears into the emptyness...

"Please...answer me..." He said softly as his fathers blood stained tail tip caught his eye. He put the pieces together, only adding to his grief. His father took his own life. He almost couldn't believe it. He dropped the cold foreclaw and stepped back, still sobbing. How could he do something so selfish? To just give up and take the easy way out? Jerrath's sadness mixed with outrage as he clenched his teeth and fist. He slammed his fist into the wall and it nearly shook the entire cave, along with shattering all the bones in his right forepaw.

He screamed in pain as he bit down hard. He gingerly held his crippled fist as he staggered out of his former home.

He looked out across the still burning village center to catch his breath.

His father was dead, his mother had disappeared, he had shattered his fist, and his sister was possessed by the greatest evil the world had ever known. Things could only go up from here right?

xXx

Malefor landed in the center of Warfang, as all the citizens stopped and stared at the massive female dragon before them. There was a pause for a few seconds as the whole center of town went quiet. Malefor looked around and smiled evilly. Females, hatchlings, moles and many different kinds of creatures, all staring in wonder at the massive dragon before them, unaware of the hell about to be bestowed upon them.

He inhaled deeply and paused for a second, then released a torrent of dark fire, burning any in his way to nothing. The silence was shattered by screams as the citizens fled the monster.

The chief elder of Warfang was sitting in his chamber studying ancient texts when he heard the screams from his high room. He dashed out to his balcony and saw a massive figure in the distance, emitting a massive amount of dark energy. Something not seen for hundreds of years, which he had only read about in the scrolls he had been studying.

He was the great great great grandson of Pyrus, the original ruler of Warfang, and he looked just like him. He sped out of his chamber and alerted the other elders.

"Ready the defense forces! The Dark one marches on our gates!"

xXx

Jerrath stretched his wings and was about to take off when Cynder appeared in front of him.

"Oh...hi Cynder..." He said looking away from her, trying to hide his tears.

"I know you've been crying Jerrath." She said smiling slightly at him.

"...How'd you know?"

"Spirit, remember?" She said

"Right..." He said sniffing up the excess tears.

"I know why you were crying too. I'm sorry about your father." she whispered to him in a comforting tone.

Jerrath didn't respond he only glanced at her in shame. Males weren't supposed to cry, especially not in front of females.

"You don't have to hide from me Jerrath, I know how hard this is for you..."

"Do you? Do you know what its like to have your father kill himself? To think that you aren't a good enough reason for him to keep on living?" He said angrily.

Cynder saw right through his teen angst. She knew he wasn't mad at her, but he was displacing those feelings onto her.

"I know it hurts, but you still have one person who needs you. Their will be a time for grief, but now is not it. I know that sounds harsh but-"

"No...There's nothing left for me. My father is dead, and so is my mother and sister." He said turning his back on her.

Spyro quietly appeared beside Cynder when he saw that she wasn't making very much headway with him.

He stood up on his hind legs and turned back to them.

"I'm going with them..." He said raising his tailtip to his neck just as his father had done.

**Bye!**


	10. Chapter 10 Confrontation

**CHAPTER 10**

Realizing he was serious Spyro quickly solidified and tackled the young dragon to the ground, pinning his tail down with his own.

"Jerrath what the hell is the matter with you?!" he said mere inches away from the tearful drakes face.

"Why the fuck do you care?! Why are you doing this to me? What if I'm not strong enough to fight Malefor? Everyone I care about is dead! Who gives a fuck what I do now?!" He growled in Spyro's face.

"Your sister isn't dead! She is Maelfor's slave as we speak! Is that what you want for her? To spend the rest of her days trapped in her own body?" Spyro snapped back firmly.

Jerrath held his glare and his injured arm as Spyro continued.

"I know your father's death hurts, but taking his way out wont fix anything."

He simply lay there, pinned under the heavier dragons weight as his tears silently spilled from his light grey eyes. Spyro's expression softened as he let him up. He realized what kind of dragon Jerrath was. He wasn't a born hero expected to save the world, and trained practically since birth to fight. He was just a scared kid, who lost his parents. Just like Spyro had been when he left the swamp all those years ago. He became transparent like his mate and Jerrath managed to get up with only three working paws.

"You hurt your paw Jerrath, let me see it." Cynder said stepping closer to him.

He withdrew slightly, earning a look of annoyance from the ebony female.

"You know I'm not going to hurt you."

He reluctantly held it out and she held a forepaw over it. The same healing white light as before shone from her marks and onto his paw. In a matter of seconds his broken bones were set and mended. He clenched and unclenched his paw and set it back down.

"Stop hurting yourself, I cant heal you all day you know." She said stepping back beside Spyro.

"Malefor went to Warfang. We think he is going to try and capture the Guardians elements to try and revive himself." He explained.

Jerrath nodded, then had a rather obvious idea.

"Wait a second, you can interact with the living, why don't you two just stay solid and fight Malefor yourself?"

"We can only help you in a desperate situation, like this one. The longer we spend in that form, the longer it takes to recover so we may do it again. We probably have to wait a while to help you after this ordeal." Cynder answered.

"Oh...well I guess I should get going then?"

Spyro nodded as they both disappeared back into the spirit realm.

"Good luck Jerrath. We have faith in you." He said as he turned to face the northern sky.

With one flap of his wings he was off, climbing high above the clouds to catch the jet streams. He stopped flapping and just let himself be pushed by the fast winds. Save for the air rushing past him, it was quite serene. He was above the highest layer of clouds and they stretched as far as he could see in any direction, obscuring the ground completely. He was alone with his thoughts for the first time since...well as long as he could remember. He had never needed a reason to be alone like this before...back when he was just a carefree young dragon. Now he was left to consider what he would have to do to get his last living relative back. Spyro had told him that Malefor's evil was limitless, and that not even the most underhanded tactic was too low for him. Jerrath closed his eyes as he glided through the air. He would have never guessed he'd be fighting some kind of ancient monster two days ago, but the fates are fickle mistresses...

On the horizon, he spotted a column of smoke punching through the picturesque cloud layer. He figured that was Warfang, and began his descent. After breaking through the clouds, he saw that he was flying over burning houses, and shattered lives. He scanned the village and a jet of purple fire gave away Malefors position. Jerrath flew straight through the fire and smoke landing right in front of his 'little' sister. She was a lot bigger than any dragon he had ever seen, male of female. She was currently being fought by a few of the city guards, but they were being killed one by one, as if Malefor was just wasting time before he got on with his real plan.

"Ria!"

The huge dragoness turned her now long and elegant neck toward the source of that voice.

"You are quite brave to approach me youngling." Malefor said.

Jerrath was confused, it looked like an older version of Ria, but he knew his sisters voice, and that definitely wasn't it, though it did sound like it.

"R-Ria is that you?"

"Hahaha Ria isn't here at the moment, but if there is something you would like me to pass on I'll make sure she hears it!" She said swinging her massive tail around and slamming into Jerraths ribs, flinging him through a straw hut and out the other side. As he tumbled to a halt, he put a hand on his side.

'Doesnt feel broken...' He thought dragging himself up. This may be a little harder than he thought.

He staggered back to his much larger sister and she stopped and turned back to him, releasing the soldier she had in her hand by flinging him across the city.

"Still alive are you? How commendable." Malefor grinned.

"I know who you are Malefor!" He shouted.

Her expression changed to one of amusement. How did he figure that out?

"Hmmm...you are quite the clever dragon. How did you come about knowing my name?" She asked.

"Spyro and Cynder told me all about you!" He growled. Upon hearing those names, her face twisted into an expression of fury.

"They were both weak!" She roared as she unleashed the same purple beam of energy she used on Alexis at her brother. He quickly dodged the attack and shot a jet of fire at his sister. It hit her dead on, she shook it off and waited for the smoke to clear.

Jerrath saw her eyes pierce through the smoke before any other part, giving him his target. He launched himself into the air, and then with a flap of his wings, shot himself at her. As he sped towards his sister, he blew a shield of fire around himself, something Ignitus had taught him during the night. He crashed straight into Ria's chest, knocking her onto her back and singing her chest scales. He landed in front of her as she scrambled to her feet, Malefor now enraged that someone had landed a hit on him.

"Spyro and Cynder also trained me to fight you!" He said, his nervousness now replaced by an ever increasing amount of confidence.

"You cant beat me! Only the purple dragon can!" She said charging him. He charged at her as well. They both jumped into the air. Jerrath blew a fireball into his right forepaw and continued to rocket through the air toward his baby sister. As he was about to deliver a crushing blow, he looked into her glaring eyes as they grew closer to him. The face of the snarling adult dragoness was replaced by the innocent wide eyed smile of the Ria he remembered. His expression softened to one of disbelief as his fist lowered. There was no way he could hit her possessed by evil or not, she was still his little sister. How could he willingly try to hurt her? Even during training, when he thought of having to hurt his own sister on purpose made him sick. Just as soon as it had appeared, the image of the former cute and helpless little hatchling Ria vanished. He was utterly defenseless. He got hit so hard in the face by her fist that he literally saw stars and flashes of light before crashing into the dirt.

xXx

'Jerrath! Jerrath you must wake up!'

That voice...it was very familiar. He opened his eyes and saw no one around him. It must be in his head. He raised his head up off the ground and noticed a massive throbbing coming from the left side of his face. He tenderly put his paw up to it and barely touched his cheek before recoiling in pain. Blood was on his paws as he lifted himself onto his haunches, tears from both the extreme pain and the situation at hand stinging his cuts. He couldn't do this, there was no way he could go on...He just wanted to give up.

'You have to keep moving!'

There was that voice again.

"Spyro?" He said aloud.

'Yes Jerrath. I know its hard but you cant give up now!'

"He's too strong! How am I supposed to fight that?" He sobbed in frustration.

"He said it himself, only the purple dragon can beat him!" He added in pain.

'Listen to me Jerrath, I know you didn't ask for this to happen. I never asked to be the purple dragon either, but you cant fight fate. This is your destiny Jerrath, now grab it with both paws!' Spyro said trying to rally his young apprentice.

'If you do it for no one else, do it for Ria.' said a female voice he recognized as Cynders.

He dried his tears as the cackle of flames were the only thing to break the silence in which he sat. He got up onto all fours and scanned the horizon. Where had Ria gone?

Then he remembered what Spyro had told him. She needed the guardians powers to revive Malefor. With that in mind, he flew on his tired wings to the masive temple structure, which now had giant dark crystals growing out of it as a trail of dead and wounded guards led up to the smashed door.

"How long was I out?" He wondered aloud approaching the threshold. He was more scared than he had ever been before, almost unable to move his feet forward. He could only pray he wasnt too late to stop her.

**Shorter than normal I know, but I didnt want to keep u guys waiting after that evil cliffhanger of mine. cya!**


	11. Chapter 11 Into The Breach

**CHAPTER 11**

Jerrath stepped into the foyer of the building, his tail swishing nervously as it always did in situations like this. The room was overgrown with dark crystals, and these strange black tentacles streaked across the walls randomly. Here, there were also bodies of brave but foolish soldiers littering the floor, their shattered armor and weapons matched the broken frames around him. As he stepped further into the room the tentacles took notice and quickly jumped off the wall. They appeared to be made of dark energy as they whipped and slashed at Jerrath. It only took one painful, energy draining slash to teach him to avoid those things. He tried to flame them but it was only marginally effective. as soon as he killed one, three more appeared to replace them. Soon he was surrounded by the snake like energy bands as they wrapped themselves around his forepaws before he could react. He felt the energy leaving his body as more of them began to approach, trying to devour what little life energy he had left.

His vision was fading...he fought to keep from blacking out. He heard Ignitus' voice in his head as he still tried to fight off these things.

'Young dragon, now is the time for you to unleash the fire within your soul! Use the fire fury attack!'

Jerrath concentrated and a ball of fire erupted from the pile of dark snakes. It expanded and burned all of them until he was free of their energy draining clutches. He looked around gasping for breath.

'Quickly Jerrath! Ria awaits her rescue!' Ignitus said, spurring him onward through the next door. Once passed the doorway, it slammed shut behind him. He yelped in surprise as it had almost nicked his tail. Rubbing his tail tip as if it had been hurt, he cautiously observed his surroundings. There were more dead dragons in this room, and a pedestal made of dark crystals, on top of which, sat a purple flame. The door sat a few feet behind it. Seeing no dark energy tentacles or any other kind of enemy, he stepped passed the pedestal, being sure not to turn his back on it as he finally reached the door. As he went to open it, it didn't budge. He pushed harder but to no avail. While he struggled with the door, small embers jumped out of the purple flame and made their way toward the fallen guards. All five embers bounced onto the decease's foreheads and burned through their scales and into their brain as if they had a mind of their own. after a few seconds, the eyes of the dead shot open, glowing the same dark color as the flame from which the embers had spawned. They slowly began to get to their feet.

Jerrath still couldnt open the door, no matter how hard he pulled. He stepped back from the door to examine it for a weakness when he heard the clang of armor from behind him.

He slowly turned his head in fear. He knew he was the only one in the room...

The bodies of those dead dragons began to shuffle slowly towards him, the wounds that killed them still oozing blood onto the floor.

He backed up until he was against the door, paralyzed with terror.

'Dont be afraid Jerrath! Remember your training!' Cynder's voice rang into his head.

He snapped out of his daze and assumed a battle stance. He lunged at the first zombie, using his back legs to drop kick him into the pedestal, lighting it on fire. It flailed around on the floor as it burned, Jerrath turned his attention to the next four. One jumped at him, its foreclaws ready to slice him to ribbons. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the claws of his attacker and rolled onto his back, flinging him across the room and crashing into a wall. He sprang up, his confidence at its highest level. He smirked in a way to rival Spyro himself and waited for the other three to attack.

all of them emmited a stream of dark fire in retaliation. He flapped his wings and dodged the hellfire as he returned the heat, incinerating two of the attackers, leaving only one left.

Jerrath slowly landed and glared at his final opponent. He stepped around him as his attacker did the same. they circled the room until the zombie stopped. Jerrath did as well, wondering what his adversary had planned. His attacker slowly wrapped his tail around a spear behind him, without Jerrath noticing as he was focused on his face, which had a rather large gash in it, with bits of brain exposed, obviously his fatal wound. In a flash, he flicked the spear out of his tail and sent it speeding toward Jerrath. He had milliseconds to act. It missed his head by inches, but he had forgotten to fold his wing behind him, the spear ripping through his sensitive young sails and pinning it to a wall.

His enemy charged him, ready to cut him to pieces. He gritted his teeth and ripped the spear out of his wing and thrust it forward through the skull of the zombie. It dropped limply to the floor, a little bit of its blood splattering onto his face. It was strange, even though dragons were cold blooded, the blood on his face was cold, like ice. This guard had met his creator long before Jerrath showed up.

The door that had been so resistant before slowly creaked open, as if a gentle breeze blew it open. He stepped over the body and left the room. The next room was a hallway, at the end of which was a large door, made entirely of dark crystal, as if it had grown around it like an unkempt vine. He walked slowly down the hallway, not knowing what to expect, as his conventional understanding of the world around was pretty much thrown out of the window when he was attacked by the living dead a room earlier. As he got halfway down the length of the corridor, the torches lighting the way blew out, as if snuffed out by a cold winters wind. Pitch darkness enveloped him as the crystal began to glow a hypnotizing hue of purple. He was strangely drawn to it, it was like nothing he had ever felt. Then, appearing at the crystal door was a purple dragoness, her gold horns and scales shown in what he knew was no visible light. She began to sing as soon as she appeared, and what graced his ears was so beautiful, he had to fight the urge to fall to his knees and cry. It was true joy and peace in musical form. He had to be near it, he wanted to be as close to it as he could for all eternity. His thoughts of Ria, his mission, and Malefor all faded into a distant dream as he unconsciously stepped forward. After a few strides, he was mere feet away from the source of this truly wonderful voice. He was basking in her glow as well as her serenade, coming within inches of her revealing her face, which had been obscured by the a thin billowing gold cloth around her elegant shoulders.

'Jerrath dont touch her!'

Spyro's voice in his head stopped his forepaw from touching the cloth, but it was too late. The singing abruptly stopped and was replaced by an incapacitating screech. The thin gold cloth now torn away to reveal the hideous face of something that could only be spawned from dark magic. Rows upon rows of jagged teeth with twisted deformed horns, and a face that he was sure would haunt his dreams for years to come. Its eyes were blood red, and even bled themselves as it reached its claws out to claim Jerrath's very soul.

As she shot her claw out to his chest, he was somehow able to push himself away with his back legs and tail just out of her reach.

'You have to show it its reflection! Thats the only way to kill a siren!' Spyro said invading his mind once more, and taking his mind of the still ear piercing shriek, if only for a moment.

He looked around while trying in vain to sheild his head with his wings from the terrible sound. It was as if his very life force was being drained out through his ears. He saw that there was nothing in the hallway to help him except the dark crystals growing out of the room. He grimaced as he knew what had to be done.

He sprang to his feet and smashed one of them with his tailtip. Luckily for him a rather sizeable shard landed near him. He took it in both paws as it burned his scales and smoke rose from his hands. Gritting his teeth, he raised the shard to the siren as she lunged at him. she saw her reflection and began to his and wail, crashing through the crystal and onto Jerrath. Smoke rose from its body as it stumbled off of him, and staggered a few paces passed him down the hallway before melting into a pile of bones and blood, shrieking still as she did.

He had a massive headache thanks to that thing, but since the unbearable noise had ceased, he felt as though he could go on. He looked onto what he prayed was the final door, where he could confront Malefor, and save his sister. Bravely he stepped forward as the crystal doors opened by themselves, and flooded the hallway with light, blinding him as he entered the Grand elder's chambers.

This was it.

**Obscenely short, yes but the next chap will be longer! and I believe after this chap there are only about 3 more to go! and this will be no hollywood ending, that much I can promise! (mine never seem to be that anyway) thanks for reading, cya!**


	12. Chapter 12 Split Personalities

**CHAPTER 12**

The crystal doors melted away and he beheld the monster Malefor had twisted his baby sister into. It was at this moment that the fear Jerrath had kept at bay with his confidence in his abilities rushed to the forefront of his mind. The terror was all encompassing as he sensed the young dragons presence.

A low growl eminated from the large dragoness in the back of the room. She curved her elegant neck to see him, sensing his crippling fear.

"So...you made through the temple alive? Very Impressive for a young dragon like yourself."

He couldn't speak. Not even a whisper escaped his maw. He could feel his lower jaw begin tremble.

"What is the matter Jerrath? Afraid of your little sister?" Malefor hissed turning all the way around. When she did, the black tendrils he had fought earlier showed themselves once more. The appeared to originate from her belly, and who he assumed were the guardians had been wrapped in them, having their elements drained as they spoke.

Still he said nothing, only looking fearfully at the monstrosity that used to be his sibling.

'Jerrath you have to fight! Do something or she will kill you!' Spyro's voice once again snapped into his head and momentarily broke his stare, but not his fear's vice like grip on his motor skills.

xXx

_In The Spirit Realm..._

Spyro, Cynder and Ignitus looked on as Jerrath was still not able to move himself.

"Spyro, I hate to admit this, but I don't think Jerrath can beat Malefor alone." She said to him.

He looked at her raising an eye ridge, but sighed.

"I think you're right Cynder...It looks like Malefor will finally realize his evil dream..." He lamented as he pondered their situation

"No! He cannot be allowed to revive himself! There has to be something we can do!" He said stamping a forefoot in frustration. Sadness graced the faces of all as Malefor began his attack on the helpless young drake they were watching.

xXx

"You certainly are a tough young fighter, but alas, your time is at an end!" Malefor roared releasing a stream of fire barreling down on Jerrath. His training completely left his head as he tried to shield himself with his wings, taking the attack head on, and failing miserably. He was carried on the column of fire and slammed into the wall behind him, cracking it and causing debris to pelt him as he lay there in a broken heap.

"I'm...I'm so-sorry Ria..." He whispered as tears of pain, both emotional and physical ran down his cut up and bruised face. Movement attracted his attention as he saw Malefor moving in to finish the job.

xXx

They cringed as they observed Jerrath absorb the massive attack Malefor had unleashed from the spirit realm, a small tear forming in Cynders eye. It was then that she knew what she had to do. She shook off her tears and looked to Spyro.

"I know how we can help. I'll go into Ria's body and try to fight Malefor off long enough for her to regain control of herself. Spyro, you should help Jerrath as much as you can."

Spyro was taken aback by his mates idea.

"Cynder I want to help them too, but if you get killed in the realm of the living, you disappear forever!" Spyro pleaded to her.

"There is no other way Spyro. I wont let him corrupt another innocent hatchling. Not as long as I can do something about it." She said solemnly.

Even though Spyro knew the extreme risks, he knew there would be no reasoning with her. He nodded and turned to Ignitus.

"If we dont come back, you've always been like a father to us Ignitus..." Spyro said smiling up at him.

"I have faith in you two. I'll do what I can for you from up here, now god speed young dragons! Jerrath cant hold out much longer!"

And with that, the entered the fray for the first time in hundreds of years.

xXx

As Malefor approached the wounded dragon, Cynder appeared in front of him, in spirit form. He was stunned to say the least, but quickly recovered his expression of calculating malice.

"Ahh Cynder my pet, it has been quite a long time since we last met." He said smirking.

"I'm not here for words Malefor!" She said lunging at him. He held his ground and spoke as she rocketed toward her former master.

"You cant injure this body! You're merely a spirit." He scoffed.

"I don't plan on hurting _Ria!_"

His eyes widened in shock as she dove into his chest and transported herself into Rias mind.

xXx

_Inside Ria's mind..._

Cynder looked around, taking in the seemingly circular all white room she had been taken to. There was a portal at one end of the room, and little Ria in a cage of dark energy at the other. She took a step toward Ria, but lightning struck right in front of her advancing paw. She withdrew it and glared at the portal from whence it came. A large black dragon stepped out of it. His eyes like burning coals and smoke rising from his very being.

"Finally, I get the chance to dispose of the general who failed me so miserably!" He gloated. He was at least twice Cynder's size, and presumeably was considerably more powerful.

"I'm not letting you use another innocent girl to do your bidding you scum!" She hissed back as they began to circle each other.

"Who are you?" A sobbing whimper came from Ria locked in her small cage.

"Its ok, I'm not here to hurt you Ria." Cynder whispered to her in a comforting tone, not taking her eyes off her enemy.

"And what exactly do you plan on doing to me here? No one but myself can access the portal to control her body, thanks to that pendant I gave her." He said smugly.

"Then I'll kill you here. Only one of us is leaving here alive." Cynder growled.

Ria looked down at the formerly gold star with a red gem in the center. It was now black as night and the red gem was glowing as if it was alive. She tried to rip it off, but as soon as she touched it, a pulse of dark energy shocked her paw harshly.

'I hope Spyro can remove that thing somehow...' Cynder thought as Malefor broke her internal monologue.

"Well I have a realm to rule, so lets get started!" He said releasing a multitude of black energy tentacles out of his arms. Cynder tried to dodge them, but they were just too fast. They wrapped themselves firmly around her limbs and tail and began to pummel her with dark energy. She screamed out in agony as the energy consumed her life force. It was only by sheer force of will that she broke free of her bonds via her shadow element.

She fell to her knees gasping for breath, a slight whimper escaping every now and again. She slowly raised her head just in time to see his tail whip across her face, cutting her cheek below her left eye and sending her hurtling across the room.

"Cynder, Cynder, Cynder...I've been looking forward to this fight for a long time, and now you give up after a few scrapes? I trained you better than that!" He snarled, hitting her wounded body with another bolt of black lightning, eliciting a yelp of pain and more gasps of breath.

'Please get that necklace off of her soon Spyro!' She thought as she slowly rose to all fours.

Malefor smirked and Ria continued to cry.

"That's more like it!"

xXx

Spyro appeared next to Jerrath and looked him over. He was pretty banged up, but nothing looked broken.

"Jerrath! Jerrath look at me!" he said urgently as the young drakes eyes fluttered open.

"Spyro...I...I cant beat him..."

"Yes you can Jerrath, and I'm going to help you." He said, his amethyst eyes locking with Jerrath's battered grey ones.

"How?" He asked weakly.

"Just hold out your paw." He said as Jerrath managed to find the strength.

Spyro put a forepaw to Jerraths and in a flash, he was gone. He felt as thought he was not in control over his own body. He felt instantly healed and quickly stood up from the rubble before Malefor gathered himself from Cynders attack.

"Spyro? Where did you go?" He asked worriedly.

'I'm in your head. I'm going to tell you what to do and when to do it, and it is crucial that you listen to me, understand?' Spyro asked.

"Okay...what do I do?"

'Wait for him to make the first move, then we counter.'

xXx

Cynder dodged the latest blast of dark energy as she tried to make her way to Ria.

Malefor shot another lightning bolt at her, only this time, she was quick enough to deflect it back at him, knocking him backward a few paces.

"Spyro is outside with Jerrath right now, and they'll find a way to exercise you from Ria! You cant be in two places at once!"

"Oh contraire, right now, Ria's external being is on, well lets just say 'auto pilot'. She will behave just as ruthlessly as if it were me controlling her. Something I believe you were quite familiar with!" he snarled.

She fired her own shadow beam at him, but he merely batted it away like nothing more than an aggravating mosquito.

'He's just toying with me...' She realized as he drew nearer.

'I have to buy Spyro all the time I can!' She thought taking another beam of dark energy to the chest.

xXx

A mighty tailswipe came at them and Jerrath followed Spyro's orders down to the letter.

'Jump! Now lunge and kick!'

He did just that and Malefor fell over onto his back. It was at that point that Jerrath caught sight of the star shaped pennant on his sisters chest.

'I dont remember seeing her wear that before...' He thought as Spyro interjected.

'I'm feeling a lot of dark energy coming from that thing, that must be how he is possessing her! Jerrath you have to get it off at all costs!'

He ran over to grab it when Malefor sprang back to life and used both back legs to send him flying across the room with a drop kick into a group of dark crystals, causing his scales to burn as they pierced them. Not even Spyro was quick enough to tell him to move out of the way of that strike. Jerrath writhed in pain as he struggled to remove the burning crystals embedded in his wings and back.

After freeing the last one, he was subject to yet another strike from the dark master, sending him into the cieling, then crashing back to the hard stone floor, the guardians all the while still being drained of their elements.

'Ok Jerrath, on the next attack, just go straight for the pennant.'

Malefor began gliding over to him, maw ready to rip him to shreds.

'Ready...and NOW!'

He lunged at his sister and broke the thin silver chain which bound it to his sisters body. The blood red light from the central gem faded into nothing, but Jerrath's successful claw was met by Malefor's much bigger one, grabbing his forearm and raising him to eye level by his trapped appendage.

The pennant slid off the broken chain and shattered on the ground, but Ria still appeared to be under the dark masters control.

"You have done nothing, boy. I cannot be stopped."

xXx

Cynder lay bleeding on the ground, wheezing heavily from the multiple wounds she received from her former master, when suddenly, he stopped walking toward her and put a paw to his head, as if he had a headache, a low angry growl escaping his maw.

The dark energy bonds holding Ria disappeared as Cynder wearily stood up on her tired legs.

"Ria...come here little one." She called to her as she ran without hesitation to the beaten and bleeding dragoness.

"Damn that purple dragon! He must have removed the pennant. No matter. There is only one way to claim this body, and it is through that portal. You will have to go through me if you want to save the girl." He said as his plan began to run into unexpected obstacles.

Cynder was in no condition to fight anymore, especially someone as powerful as Malefor. That left only little Ria...

**Remember when malefor gave ria that pennant a few chaps back? yeah, it all makes sense now! anyway, only two chaps left! bye!**


	13. Chapter 13 A Cruel Mistress

**CHAPTER 13**

Her former friend now glared menacingly at Ria, his stare alone making her knees weak. Cynder did her best to stand strong for her, but even her strength was faltering at this point.

"You place you're hope for survival in the paws of a child? Truly you have forgotten how to plan a battle Cynder." Malefor said, holding his malevolent stare.

Cynder lowered her head down to Ria's level and whispered.

"I know you're scared, but we need to get you through that portal so you can get control of yourself. I'm going to distract him for as long as I can. On three. Ready...?"

She nodded and Cynder slowly counted, herself knowing that this could be the end for her for all eternity.

"One..."

Cynder assumed a battle stance once more, and Malefor did as well, ready to rip the dragoness limb from limb.

"T-Two..."

She was now on the verge of trembling. The thought of a life without Spyro was overwhelming, and she knew almost for a fact what he would do if he found out she was gone forever.

"Three!"

Cynder pooled her remaining magic together and lunged at the dark master, knocking him over. She clawed viciously at his chest and neck, trying desperately to inflict a mortal wound.

"Ria go!" She shouted as the little drake snapped out of her trance and began running as fast as her little legs could carry her. Before she jumped in, she turned to look back at her mysterious rescuer, only to see Malefor's tail whip across her face, flinging her to the ground with a feminine grunt. Ria could only watch in fear as her former friend walked calmly over to Cynder, the scratches she gave him bleeding onto the floor leaving a trail behind him.

Malefor thrust a massive claw around Cynders neck, and slammed her against the wall, keeping her in his choke hold. He then proceeded to fire punch after bone shattering punch straight to her gut as bits of blood rained from her mouth. After a particularly violent volley of hits, Malefor raised his tail and placed the tip on her chest.

"Now, I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago!" He withdrew his tail with the intent of slamming it into her heart when a scream and fireball stopped him. He heard the scream, but when he turned to confront it, he was met with a ball of fire the likes of which he had never seen. It hit him dead on, releasing his grip on Cynder and sending him tumbling away from her. Cynder dropped to the ground and weakly raised her head to shout at Ria.

"GO! Get into the portal now!" she shouted.

She dashed the few remaining feet to the portal, but felt a vice like grip clasp around her back foot. To her horror she saw that one of Malefor's black tendrils had securely wrapped itself around her.

"I dont think so! I will not allow you to ruin my plans again Cynder!" Slowly he began to pull her to him.

Cynder had to act quickly.

She raised her razor sharp tailtip and quickly cut the appendage, leaving flailing on the ground as Ria made her escape into a flash of white light.

"That'a girl..." She said as Cynder disappeared back into the heavens with a sigh.

xXx

Jerraths arm was being crushed by his much larger sister as she fastened the other claw around his neck. She was still under Malefor's control.

'Why is she still evil? We got the amulet off!' Spyro thought in confusion as Jerrath had the life choked out of him by his little sister.

"Ria...its your...brother...s-stop...please...." He gasped, his last forced breaths leaving his lungs clamoring for air.

Then her grip relaxed, and her evil purple eyes flickered back to their original color. But as soon as it had lightened enough for him to get another breath, it tightened back up as her eyes changed back to purple.

'She's fighting Malefor Jerrath! Use the purple dragons fury!' Spyro instructed as his right forepaw began to glow purple.

He reared back and punched Spyro's energy right into her chest, freeing him from her choke hold and sending her tumbling backwards. A black mist and a hellish shriek came from her as Malefor was released back into oblivion. Ria began shrinking back to her normal size as her brother scrambled over to her.

'You did it Jerrath...you beat the greatest evil in all the realms...' Spyro said relieved.

"I couldnt have done it without you Spyro..." He said catching his breath.

'I don't have the energy to stay with you, but I think you can handle yourself from here.' He assumed as he too went back to heaven with Cynder and Ignitus as well as the rest of the other guardians.

"Ria...Ria wake up..." He said as he held up his sisters head off the ground.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at her brother in the midst of all the death and destruction she had caused.

He picked her up and carried her out of the nearly destroyed temple, only to be met by a crowd of angry Warfang residents.

xXx

Spyro appeared next to Cynder after he had left Jerrath, and the two of them walked away together when Cynder caught the confrontation out of the corner of her eye.

"Wait a second Spyro...what's going on down there?" She asked walking back over to the viewing pool of the living realm.

"Oh no..." He said. He had left them too soon!

"We have to get back down there and help them!" He said.

"We cant Spyro! Neither you nor I have the energy to make another trip down there!" She admitted.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Leave them at the mercy of that angry mob?" He growled in frustration.

"All we can do is wait until we have more energy, and pray that they can take care of themselves..." She hoped sadly. This was especially painful for Cynder to witness. She knew exactly what it was like to be ostracized for something you couldn't control. This was the consequence of being one of the dark masters pawns.

xXx

"That's her! That's the monster!"

"Kill it now! Before she awakens again!"

Shouts like these emanated from the crowd as torches and weapons were waved at the two young dragons.

"She's not evil! She was possessed by evil!" Jerrath reasoned, but to no avail.

The crowd soon began to encircle them. He took off into the dense woods, the snow crunching beneath his back paws as he carried his sister in his front paws. Running into the woods was a mistake on his part, because he didn't have the strength to break through the canopy of dead trees. His sister was still unconscious as he went deeper into the forest, the bitter winds somehow finding their way through the trees, biting at his face, tail and paws. He couldn't stop now, he heard the mob behind him , and when he turned to look every now and then, their torchlights Let him know that they would not let up so easily.

_Hours later..._

Jerrath was now slowly trudging through the blizzard that was now barreling down on the pair. The mob had long since dispersed, but not before driving them so far into the wilderness that they were hopelessly lost. Normally, he'd hear Ria cough or feel her shift in his arms, but he hadn't felt or heard anything from her in the past hour. She felt cold to the touch as he pressed on, his malnourished and dehydrated frame slowing more with every step.

xXx

Spyro looked into the pool with sadness. He almost had the energy to descend to their realm once more, but it was too late. Cynder was beside him, a tear forming in her corner of her eye, staining her jet black scales. It seemed as though Malefor had claimed two small victories...

xXx

"Ria...Ria!" Jerrath called to his sister, still carrying her in his arms, even thought they were severely frostbitten by this point, as was his tail, and paws.

'I've got to get her help!' He thought as his legs faltered beneath him, causing him to crash into the snow, throwing his frozen arms forward to avoid crushing his little sister.

He looked up from the white ground and saw the torchlights of a village in the distance.

He grabbed his now extremely cold sister and held her close. She was still motionless...

"Look Ria...we're almost there..." He whispered to her as he laid his head down, embracing the darkness closing in on his vision before trying to continue on.

Spyro and Cynder's spirit appeared before the fallen drake and his sister in the now gently falling snow.

"Thats right Jerrath...you're almost home." Spyro said, as a tear dripped off his snout and froze on the ground.

**The End!**

**I told you there would be no hollywood ending! please tell me what you think!**

**also, check out the works of cornys one of the newest writers on this site!  
thats it! I have no more fics planned, so I'll prolly just be reviewing from now on.  
**

Bye, and thanks for all of your support and reading!

**-TMHB77  
**


End file.
